Maternity leave

The employee is legally protected during a medically confirmed pregnancy and during maternity leave.  An employer cannot use pregnancy as a reason to refuse to employ someone, terminate a contract of employment during a probationary period or transfer an employee to another post.

The employee is not obliged to reveal that she is pregnant unless she is requesting to benefit from provisions to protect pregnant women.

If you need assistance or encounter any difficulties, you can make an appointment at the Labour Inspectorate in one of the following three ways:

• Online, using the dedicated online service
• By emailing: inspectiondutravail@gouv.mc
• By telephoning: (+377) 98 98 87 26

When you attend your appointment, please bring the documents required to complete your procedure.

The employee should notify her employer, without any particular deadline, of:

• The date of the start of her maternity leave 
• The date of her return to work

It is normally forbidden to work two weeks before the birth and six weeks after the birth.

Maternity leave is applied as follows :

Whatever the number of existing and expected children, some of the prenatal leave entitlement, not exceeding four weeks, may be taken after the birth, subject to the agreement of the attending physician.

Pre-Term deliveries

In the case of deliveries before the expected date, there is no reduction in the total amount of maternity leave.

Medical conditions

In the case of a medical condition that is confirmed by a medical certificate, the maternity leave can be extended by two weeks before the expected delivery date, and by four weeks afterwards.

Hospitalisation of the newborn baby

Postnatal leave may be extended if the baby has to be hospitalised for longer than six weeks after the birth.

The cessation of work during statutory maternity leave suspends the contract of employment for the corresponding period and is not grounds for a termination of the contract.

The employee may request a temporary change of employment on health grounds.  The employer can also request this, following advice from an occupational doctor.  There must be no decrease in remuneration if this request arises from the employer or if the employee has worked at the company for less than one year.

Pregnant women may leave work five minutes before the agreed time with no reduction in salary.

Dismissal

The employer cannot terminate a contract during a pregnancy, maternity leave or up to four weeks after the end of this leave, except if:

• He or she can prove that there is serious misconduct not linked to pregnancy
• The company closes or reduces its activity
• The employee has a fixed term contract that has expired

In these cases, the dismissal must be notified to the Labour Inspector and will first be examined by the committee on dismissals and redundancy.  A dismissal cannot take effect or be notified during the scheduled period of maternity leave, i.e. eight weeks before the expected date of delivery and eight weeks afterwards.

If the employee is dismissed but the employer is not aware that she is pregnant, the dismissal can be cancelled.  In such cases, the employee should send her employer a medical certificate certifying that she is pregnant.  This should be sent by registered post with confirmation of receipt within 15 days following the notice of the dismissal.

Resignation

In cases of medically confirmed pregnancy, the employee can resign without notice and without having to pay any penalties for resigning at short notice.

Maternity leave is calculated on a daily basis. 

Returning to work

The employee can continue in the same work or similar work with remuneration that is at least equivalent.  Her rights relating to length of service are not affected.

Resignation

If the employee decides not to return to work, she must tell her employer by registered letter with confirmation of receipt 15 days before the end of her maternity leave.  This resignation is excempt from the usual notice period.

During the following year, she can request to return to work by registered letter with confirmation of receipt.  The employer is obliged to re-employ her as a priority within a deadline of one year, in a post suited to her qualifications.  If she is re-employed, her employer must afford her all the benefits that she was entitled to before her departure.