Delhi High Court Fines Firm For Demoting Woman After Maternity Leave

Maternity cannot be allowed to become a source of ignominy at the workplace, the Delhi High Court has ruled while holding that statutory protection available to women during maternity leave is not confined to continuity of employment but extends to their professional status and prospects of career advancement.

The high court's observations came while directing a private firm to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation and Rs 1.5 lakh costs to a woman chartered accountant who had gone on maternity leave as an accounting manager and, upon return to work, was assigned a role in the treasury department -- to a position which was clerical in nature.

The woman went on to resign and approached the High Court through advocate Parul Singh.

The court held that a woman returning from maternity leave is ordinarily entitled to be restored to the post she held immediately before going on leave. Where that post is genuinely unavailable for bona fide organisational reasons, she must be placed in a position as nearly equivalent as possible in terms of pay, grade, status, role, responsibilities, managerial authority and prospects for advancement.

"Where a statutory framework is enacted to advance constitutional guarantees, courts are duty-bound to interpret such legislation in a manner that effectuates, rather than defeats, those guarantees. Under no circumstance can maternity be allowed to become a source of ignominy at the workplace," Justice Sachin Datta said in an order dated August 31.

The court also held that neither the Maternity Benefit Act nor the Code on Social Security, 2020, expressly provides a comprehensive framework governing post-maternity reintegration.

It directed the Centre to frame rules or issue directions to ensure pregnancy-related accommodations, role protection, return-to-work parity, lactation support, timely grievance redressal, inspection standards, and safeguards against subtle workplace retaliation, directing the exercise be completed within six months.

The court said nothing should preclude a woman from seeking appropriate adjustment in her duties, hours, place or pattern of work or an alternate role in view of her post-maternity circumstances, and every such request shall be duly considered.

It said the expression "conditions of service" under the law extends to the substantive incidents of employment, including the nature and content of duties entrusted to the woman employee, her grade and functional status, reporting hierarchy, supervisory responsibilities, and her entitlement to be considered for appraisal and promotion.

The court said a woman returning from maternity leave is ordinarily entitled to the same position, and where that is genuinely impracticable, "the employer shall, before her resumption of duty, duly intimate the reasons for the non-availability of the post and the particulars of the alternative or equivalent position proposed to be offered to her".

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