UP Cabinet Removes Two-Year Gap Rule for 180-Day Maternity Leave

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved a change in maternity leave rules for women state government employees, removing the requirement of a two-year gap between two maternity leaves.

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The decision allows eligible employees to avail 180 days of maternity leave twice during their service.

What Has Changed

The decision was approved by the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on August 22 through circulation, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presiding over the Cabinet. The Cabinet approved 11 proposals, including the change related to maternity benefit.

Under the revised provision, women state government employees can get 180 days of maternity leave on two occasions during their entire service, without having to meet the earlier condition of a two-year gap between the two periods of leave.

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The provision also covers cases involving adopted children, according to the Cabinet decision reported by Hindustan Times.

• 180 days of maternity leave for each eligible spell.
• Maternity leave can be availed twice during the employee’s service.
• The earlier two-year gap requirement between the two leaves has been removed.
• The provision also includes cases involving adopted children.

Background to the Decision

The change comes after legal scrutiny of the two-year gap requirement. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court recently held that a woman government employee could not be denied maternity benefits for a second pregnancy merely because two years had not passed since the earlier maternity leave.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Announces 365-Day Maternity Leave for Third Child: Support or Workplace Risk?

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In the case before the court, the petitioners were government employees who had earlier received 180 days of leave and were later denied leave for a second pregnancy because the required two-year period had not elapsed.

The court held that maternity benefits could not be denied solely on the basis of the gap requirement.

HR and Workplace Relevance

For women employees of the Uttar Pradesh state government, the Cabinet decision removes the earlier two-year gap condition between maternity leave periods. This may make it easier for eligible employees to avail maternity leave for a second pregnancy without having to wait for the prescribed gap.

For HR and administration teams, the change will require leave records and eligibility checks to follow the revised state service rules once the amendment is formally implemented.

The decision applies to eligible UP government employees and does not extend to private-sector employees. Maternity benefits in the private sector continue to be governed by applicable central maternity-benefit laws, including the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.