Intensive details on leave of an employee;
Permanent employees are entitled to various types of leave. The Employment and Labor Relations Act of 2007 section 31-34 explains different kinds of leave, how and when taken as in;
- Annual leave-where an employer provides the employee with at least 28 consecutive days leave that is 2.4 days per month, in respect of the leave cycle including public holidays falling within the period of leave. The days may be reduced in respect to granted occasional leave.
- Sick leave- an employee will be entitled to at least 126 days in any leave cycle. The first 63 days shall be paid full wage and the second 63 days shall be paid half wages.
Payments may be withheld when, the employee fails to produce medical certificate, and when the employee is entitled to paid sick leave under any law, fund or collective agreement.
Section 32 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007, empowers an employer to deduct from the sick leave days to employees who often claim to be sick as the law direct sick leave of 126 days in a cycle of three years.
- Maternity leave –an employee is responsible to notify an employer to take this leave at least 3 months before the expected date of birth which will be supported by the employee’s medical certificate. And the given time is 84 days paid maternity leave and 100 days if an employee delivers more than child. Nevertheless, an employee may be entitled to additional maternity leave of 84 days if the child dies within the year of birth.
Thus if an employee conceives more than four times while working with the same employer, she is granted unpaid maternity leave.
As Section 33(8) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007 allows paid maternity leave for four terms only.
(i) Can an employer grant leave for an employee who gets another baby before completing the three years leave?
Section 33(3) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007, allows that but it will be unpaid maternity leave will be granted by the employer since no employee is allowed to work within six weeks of the birth of her child unless a medical practitioner certifies that she is fit to do so.
(ii) Can an employee who turns out to be pregnant few months after being hired be terminated?
Section 7(4)(j) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007 prohibits discrimination at work place, one of it being discrimination on pregnancy. And this has further been elaborated on section29(3) of Employment and Labour Relations Act (code of good practice) Rules. That harassment of an employee, whether of sexual nature or otherwise, constitutes a form of discrimination.
(iii) Can an employee take maternity and annual leave at the same time?
Section 31(3) (a-b) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007, empowers the employer to determine when it should be taken provided it is taken no later than;
- Six months after the end of the leave cycle; or
- The extension is justified by the operational requirements of the employer.
Yes, one might take both leaves at once, although annual leave is taken after getting a consent from the employer.
(iv) Will there be hours granted to the mother to breastfeed after the maternity leave period has ended?
Section 33(10) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007, obliges the employer to allow maximum of two hours per day, for the employee to breastfeed her newborn child. Although the law is not clear on how long the breastfeeding period will last.
(v) Is an employer authorized to allow an employee to attend clinic during pregnancy?
An employer is supposed to allow an employee to attend antenatal clinic while pregnant. Unless if an employee experiences complications is then advised to take sick leave.
Paternity and death leave
Paternity leave- this lasts for three days within the 7 days a child was born if an employee is the father of the child.
At least 4 days are granted when an employee experience death or sickness of a child, death of a parent, spouse, or grandparents, grandchild or sibling.
Leave allowance and other benefits
(i) Is leave allowance obligatory to the employee during the annual leave?
Leave allowance is wages an employee is paid even when not working, it is salary paid monthly. The Wage Order G.N 223 of 2007 refers leave allowance as to a fringe benefit. But that was abolished in the Wage Order G.N 172 of 2010, thus such benefits can be negotiated in the Collective Bargaining Agreements.
(ii) What other benefits does an employee get during the annual leave?
Rule 5 Wage Order of GN 136 of 2013, obliges an employer to provide an employee with a leave travel allowance, once every two years of continuous service with the same employer.
(iii) Can money be given to an employee to substitute annual leave?
Section 30(6) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2007, provides that when there is consent of an employee, the employer may require or permit an employee to work for the employer during a period of annual leave on condition that such employee shall not work for continuous period of two years.
