AL Committee greenlights bill to amend annual and maternity leave

The Legislative Assembly’s (AL) First Standing Committee has completed its review of proposed amendments to the Labor Relations Law, paving the way for a plenary vote on measures that would increase annual leave entitlement and extend maternity leave.

As the Times previously reported, the bill mainly focuses on two aspects: increasing the legal minimum number of annual leave days and increasing the number of maternity leave days.

Regarding annual leave, while maintaining the system provided under the current law that guarantees a minimum of six working days of annual leave, the draft law introduces a mechanism to increase the number of annual leave days based on the employee’s length of service. The number of leave days would increase by one working day for every two full years of service, reaching a maximum of 12 days when the length of service exceeds 12 years.

Additionally, with this increase based on length of service, the bill provides that entitlement to annual leave will be determined based on length of service; that is, the right to annual leave accrues after the employee completes one year of employment.

Regarding maternity leave, the bill proposes increasing the number of maternity leave days from the current 70 days to 90 days. Of these, 60 days must be taken immediately after childbirth, while the remaining 30 days may be taken, in whole or in part, before or after childbirth, at the employee’s discretion.

The measure is intended to provide better maternity conditions for female workers, allowing them more time for prenatal care, postpartum recovery and childcare, while further improving family-friendly policies and encouraging childbirth, thereby contributing to an increase in the birth rate.

Both proposals have received support from the committee, which has also proposed changing the effective date of the provisions extending maternity leave from Jan. 1 next year to the day following the law’s publication, allowing a greater number of pregnant workers to benefit from the measure.

At the same time, the government has said it intends to maintain, until the end of this year, the current provisional supplementary subsidy for pay provided during the 14-day maternity leave period. It will introduce a new subsidy through an administrative regulation once the 20-day extension of maternity leave provided for in the bill takes effect.

The measure is intended to ease the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.

The government explained that from the time the bill takes effect until the end of the year, it will subsidize pay for 34 days of maternity leave, and starting next year, it will subsidize pay for 20 days of maternity leave.

The bill is now being submitted for scheduling for plenary voting. If approved, it will take effect on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette, while the provisions related to annual leave will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.