Delhi High Court affirms maternity leave rights for contractual employees

5 December 2025 1 min read

At a glance

The Delhi High Court (Court) ruled that contractual employees cannot be denied maternity leave solely due to the nature of their engagement.
The judgment affirms that maternity benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 (MB Act) extend to all women employees, regardless of the nature of their engagement.
The Court held that denying such benefits amounts to gender discrimination and violates constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity.
Employers must ensure HR policies and contracts reflect statutory maternity entitlements for all workforce categories.
This ruling reaffirms compliance obligations for organisations employing women on fixed-term or project-based contracts.

The Court has reaffirmed that maternity benefits under the MB Act extend to all women employees, including those on contractual or project-based engagements. In this case, the Court ruled that denying maternity leave based on employment classification constitutes gender discrimination and violates constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity. This decision would have significant compliance implications for employers, particularly in sectors such as IT, education, and healthcare, where contractual hiring is common. Organisations must ensure HR policies, contracts and budgeting processes uniformly reflect statutory maternity entitlements. Failure to comply could result in legal exposure and reputational risk. The ruling signals a broader judicial trend towards universal maternity protection, emphasising that welfare rights cannot be curtailed by contractual arrangements. Businesses should proactively review policies to align with this evolving legal landscape and adopt inclusive practices that recognise maternity as a fundamental right.

It is worth noting that the MB Act laid down socio-welfare maternity benefits for women in India. It has now been repealed and subsumed under the Code on Social Security 2020, which also provides similar maternity benefits to eligible women employees as covered under the erstwhile MB Act.