'Maternity leave cannot cost women status, promotion at work', says Delhi HC

Maternity cannot be allowed to become a source of “ignominy” at the workplace, the Delhi High Court has ruled, holding that protection for women taking maternity leave extends beyond continued employment and salary to their professional status, responsibilities, authority and prospects for career advancement.

Justice Sachin Datta said a woman returning from maternity leave should ordinarily be restored to the position she held immediately before proceeding on leave. If the position is genuinely unavailable because of demonstrable organisational reasons, the employer must offer a role that is as nearly equivalent as possible in terms of pay, grade, status, responsibilities, managerial authority and opportunities for advancement. The court said pregnancy or maternity leave cannot become grounds for demotion, loss of status or denial of career progression, observing that such treatment would run contrary to constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity and social justice.

Rs 10 lakh compensation

The ruling came in a petition filed by chartered accountant Rakhi Bisht, who had joined private software company HashiCorp as an accounting manager in 2022. She went on maternity leave in December 2023 and returned in July 2024 to find that her earlier role had been assigned to another employee.

Bisht was instead moved to the treasury department, where she alleged that the work assigned to her was clerical in nature and ordinarily performed by an employee around three levels below her managerial position. Before her maternity leave, five employees reported to her, while after her return she no longer had staff reporting to her and was excluded from managerial meetings for a considerable period.

She subsequently resigned and approached the High Court, seeking Rs 50 lakh in compensation and directions for stronger safeguards against pregnancy-related discrimination in private workplaces.

The company denied that she had been demoted, maintaining that her designation, salary and seniority remained unchanged and that she had also received an annual increment. It attributed the reassignment to organisational restructuring.

The court, however, held that merely retaining an employee's designation and salary does not necessarily rule out professional disadvantage if her responsibilities, authority and career prospects are substantially diminished.

It directed the company to pay Bisht Rs 10 lakh as compensation and another Rs 1.5 lakh towards litigation costs within eight weeks. No reinstatement order was passed since she had already resigned.

Centre told to frame rules

The High Court noted that neither the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, nor the Code on Social Security, 2020, expressly lays down a comprehensive framework governing the reintegration of women into the workplace following maternity leave.

It directed the Centre to frame rules, schemes or appropriate directions within six months addressing pregnancy-related workplace accommodation, protection of an employee's role and status after maternity leave, return-to-work parity, lactation support, functional crèche facilities, grievance-redressal timelines and safeguards against workplace retaliation.

The court also said employers must inform returning employees in advance if their previous position is unavailable, explain the reasons and provide details of the alternative role, including its grade, remuneration, reporting structure and responsibilities.

At the same time, women would remain free to seek adjustments to their duties, working hours, workplace or work pattern after maternity leave. Such requests, the court said, must be duly considered and should not subsequently be used to disadvantage them in appraisals, increments or promotions.