Delhi High Court Expands Maternity Leave Protections Beyond Pay and Termination

The Delhi High Court has significantly broadened protections for women on maternity leave, ruling that employers cannot alter substantive employment conditions during a woman's statutorily protected absence. A Single Judge Bench held that restrictions under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and the Code on Social Security, 2020 extend beyond preventing termination or salary cuts to include changes in job duties, grade, functional status, reporting hierarchy, supervisory responsibilities, and promotion opportunities.

The Court mandated that women returning from maternity leave are ordinarily entitled to their previous position. If that post is unavailable for genuine organisational reasons, employers must place them in an equivalent role with comparable pay, grade, status, responsibilities and advancement prospects. Employers must communicate reasons for unavailability and details of alternative positions before the employee resumes work, and must consider employee objections through reasoned communication.

The judgment clarified that women may voluntarily seek adjustments to duties, hours or roles due to post-maternity circumstances. Such arrangements do not constitute consent to reduced protections or waiver of statutory rights, and cannot be held against them in appraisals, increments or promotions. Women retain the right to seek restoration to their previous position once circumstances change.