“Expanded Maternity Leave Law”

(Reaction Paper 1)

On February 20, 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Republic Act

11210, a bill that will grant additional leave benefits for working mothers. The law

implements that all waged mothers in the public and private sector are guaranteed

with 105 days of paid maternity leave credits, with 7 days transferable to fathers. Single

mothers are entitled an extra 15 days of leave. They can also choose to extend their

leaves for an additional 30 unpaid days given that the employer were given written

notice 45 days prior to the end of the leave. Before, employed women are entitled only

60 days of paid leave for normal delivery and 78 days for caesarean delivery. It shall

be applied to all female workers regardless of civil status, legitimacy of the child,

employment status, and the number of pregnancies she already had and will have. In

cases of miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, sixty days of leave will

be granted with full pay. These enactments are different in execution with the public

and private sectors, given that in the private companies, three months of contribution

is required before qualifying for the maternity leave.

RA 11210 is, in fact, a consequential breather for employed women, in various

industries, for it lessens the worries they might have for carrying a child. Aside from

the fact that parents will be given a voluminous break when undergoing pregnancy,

they are still bound to receive the usual salary they get from the company they are

working. This sole factor will definitely also be beneficial to the employer and the HR

department because it will improve the loyalty and camaraderie of the women

employees to the company, so as to stay and not abandon their posts, as well as,

refreshes their skill sets. The law will also be able to encourage more women, given

an additional 45 days of paid leave, to apply for work, and restrain their fears of the
consequences of birthing, that will definitely diminish the dilemma of HR personnel in

looking for qualified candidates for job openings in their companies. Though it might

seem that the said law will be massively beneficial to expecting mothers, it still

contrives an intimidating factor to the employers and a menial task for HR

professionals. HR personnel will be bound to be more stringent in accepting

applications of women, especially those who are in the grounds of expecting a child,

mainly because it will affect the flow of business if they were to hire a number of

pregnant women who will be applying for a leave sooner than their regularization and

tenure. It will also induce the issue on who will be substituting those employees who

are in leave. While it is good for mothers and the baby, the law might give companies

and firms second thoughts on hiring married women, especially those who just got

married and starting to build families.

One of the biggest drawbacks for companies is how they can find a temporary

replacement for their pregnant woman employee who is set to take a leave will be

taken over. The company has to ensure that her duties and obligations are properly

assigned to the team members. The law will clearly have an impact on the operational

structure of a company. To avoid such conflicts, companies should now adapt to the

law and put in place measures that will allow the smooth flow of operations of the

company. Also, probably not all pregnant women want to take a leave that long..

Maybe companies can start digitizing certain jobs to allow flexibility in the workplace

and allow pregnant women who want to get back to work to do their job remotely. I

hope that they will include in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) provisions

that will provide some sort of flexibility for the pregnant woman. For example, splitting

the use of the 105 days. She can opt to use portions of the leave during the crucial

months of pregnancy and the remaining during the time she gives birth until she is
able to come back to work. Another is a provision that will allow women to choose

whether or not they will complete the 105 days. Whether the law will create a better

working environment for women or not, we have yet to see it in the coming years.

However, an IRR that is well crafted and have inputs from the mothers themselves,

could possibly prevent any discrimination from happening. Thus, RA 11210 is indeed

an exemplary law but can still have amendments and adjustments to justify the

balance between the employees and the employer.