Legislative Update: Enhanced Maternity Leave Protection Will Come Into Operation On 11 December 2020

Introduction

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare has recently announced that the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 ("EAO") will come into effect on 11 December 2020. Working mothers whose actual date of confinement is on or after the effective date will benefit from the improvements as conferred under the EAO. However, employees whose confinement occurs prior to the effective day are entitled to the current 10 weeks of maternity leave. As explained in our July 2020 Newsletter, the following are the key amendments:

(1) Extension of maternity leave by 4 weeks

The EAO increases maternity leave under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) by 4 weeks, from 10 to 14 weeks. The additional 4 weeks should be taken by the entitled employee continuously after her 10 weeks of maternity leave.