The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ruled that maternity leave availed by women employees must be treated as part of continuous service, observing that motherhood cannot become a reason for economic disadvantage or workplace discrimination.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal dismissed appeals filed by Jammu & Kashmir Bank challenging an earlier judgment that had granted relief to a group of female Banking Associates.
The controversy arose after the Bank excluded the period spent on maternity leave during probation while calculating the employees’ length of regular service. Due to this exclusion, the women employees were denied consideration for promotion under the seniority-cum-selectivity channel, which required seven years of regular service.
Earlier, a single-judge Bench had held that maternity leave cannot be treated as a break in service and directed the Bank to count the leave period towards continuity of service for purposes of regularisation and promotion eligibility.
Assailing the decision before the Division Bench, the Bank argued that only actual regular service rendered by employees could be considered while determining eligibility for promotion.
Rejecting the contention, the High Court upheld the earlier ruling and observed that denying career benefits to women employees for availing maternity leave would amount to discrimination and would violate the constitutional principles of equality.
The Bench emphasised that maternity leave is a statutory and protective benefit intended to preserve the dignity of motherhood. It held that women employees cannot be penalised in matters of promotion or economic advancement merely because they exercised their legal right to maternity leave.
The case concerned several female Banking Associates who had completed the required service period but were rendered ineligible for promotion after the Bank deducted the maternity leave period from their tenure.
The Court clarified that sanctioned leave, including maternity leave, does not disrupt continuity of service and must be counted while assessing eligibility for service-related benefits.
The post Jammu and Kashmir High Court holds maternity leave forms part of continuous service appeared first on India Legal.