Employment law
Maternity in Mali: protection from pregnancy until the child is fifteen months old
In the Ségou Confection workshop, the sewing machines run in two shifts and rolls of fabric arrive in thirty-kilo bales. Aminata, a seamstress, tells her team leader that she is three months pregnant. Management thinks "fourteen weeks' leave", and nothing more. Yet the protection starts today: it affects the post, pay and the contract, and continues for fifteen months after the birth.
Ségou Confection is a garment workshop with 90 employees, 60 of them women. Aminata has been a seamstress there for two years and earns XOF 120,000 a month. This company and the people mentioned are fictitious: their names are used for illustration only.
1. What exactly are we talking about?
Maternity protection is the set of rules that apply to the employee from medically confirmed pregnancy until the child is fifteen months old. It protects the health of mother and child, and the employee's job during this period.
| Period | What changes | Texts |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy confirmed and notified | Adapted post, carrying loads prohibited, the employee may leave without payment in lieu of notice | L.178, L.185 and D.189-13 |
| Maternity leave | 14 weeks, 6 of them before the expected date; daily allowance paid by the INPS | L.179 and Social Security Code, article 28 |
| Extension and suspension | 3 more weeks in case of pregnancy-related illness; no termination during the suspension that follows leave | L.181 and L.183 |
| Return, until the child is 15 months old | One hour of paid breastfeeding breaks a day; the employee may leave without payment in lieu of notice | L.184 |
The most common mistake
Believing that everything starts and ends with the leave. The employer's obligations begin as soon as the pregnancy is notified, and some last more than a year after the employee returns.
Maternity is not just a period of leave. It is a protection that lasts almost two years.
2. During pregnancy: adapting the post
As soon as the pregnancy is known, the employer must review the work assigned.
- Prohibited work. Pregnant women may not be employed on work beyond their strength, involving danger or likely to offend their morals (Labour Code, article L.185).
- Carrying loads. A pregnant woman may not be made to carry, push or pull any load, once her condition has been notified to the employer by herself or by the medical service (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996, article D.189-13). Aminata will therefore no longer carry the bales of fabric.
- Night work. In industrial undertakings, women may not be employed at night, subject to the exceptions provided by law, and their rest must last at least twelve consecutive hours (Labour Code, article L.186).
- Medical supervision. Pregnant women and mothers of a child under two receive special supervision from the occupational doctor, who sets the frequency of examinations (Social Security Code, article 44). See Occupational doctor.
The labour inspector may also have the employee examined by a doctor, and this examination is a right if she requests it. If the job is found to be beyond her strength, she must be assigned to suitable work; if that is not possible, the contract is terminated by the employer (Labour Code, article L.188).
The employee may leave without payment in lieu of notice
A pregnant woman whose condition has been medically confirmed may terminate her contract after informing her employer 24 hours in advance, except in cases of force majeure, without paying compensation in lieu of notice (Labour Code, article L.178). The 24 hours' advance notice remains due: what disappears is the payment.
What an unadapted post costs
Breaches of the rules protecting pregnant women are punishable by a fine of XOF 20,000 to 50,000, and XOF 50,000 to 200,000 for a repeat offence (Labour Code, article L.326).
What you need to do
- Review the post as soon as the pregnancy is notified and remove all carrying of loads.
- Take the employee off night work in an industrial undertaking.
- Refer the employee to the occupational doctor for special supervision.
3. Leave: 14 weeks, and a period when the employee may not work
The Code layers three rules that do not say the same thing.
| Rule | Scope | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity leave of 14 weeks: 6 before the expected date, 8 after childbirth | A right of the employee | L.179 |
| Ban on employing the employee for 7 consecutive weeks, 3 of them before the expected date | A prohibition on the employer | L.180 |
| 3-week extension in case of illness resulting from pregnancy or childbirth, confirmed by certificate | An additional right, on medical certificate | L.181 |
The prohibition in article L.180 binds the employer even if the employee wishes to work: during these seven weeks, she may not be employed (Labour Code, article L.180). The implementing decree also prohibits employing her during the six weeks following childbirth (article D.189-12).
Early childbirth
When childbirth takes place before the expected date, rest is extended until the 14 weeks have expired (L.179). An early birth does not shorten the leave: it shifts how it is split.
Example. Aminata gives birth two weeks before the expected date.
Weeks taken before the birth: 6 − 2 = 4 weeks
Weeks granted after the birth: 14 − 4 = 10 weeks
Total leave: 4 + 10 = 14 weeks
What you need to do
- Set the start date of the leave in writing, six weeks before the expected date of childbirth.
- Never employ the employee during the prohibition period, even at her request.
- Recalculate the end of the leave as soon as the child is born to guarantee the 14 weeks.
4. Who pays, and under what conditions?
During the leave, the employee is entitled to free care and to the pay she was receiving when work was suspended, under the conditions set by the Social Security Code; she keeps her benefits in kind (Labour Code, article L.182).
The INPS pays the maternity daily allowance. It equals the full salary actually received at the time of suspension, with no ceiling, for the 14 weeks of leave (Social Security Code, article 28). It is also due during the three-week extension, on request with a medical certificate and an attestation from the employer (article 30).
The conditions to meet
- Prove employee status: nine consecutive months of activity, with one or more employers, each month counting if it includes at least 18 days or 120 hours of work (articles 7 and 29).
- Have the pregnancy confirmed by a doctor or midwife (articles 16 and 29).
- Actually stop working, which the employer certifies (article 29).
- Prove the salary received, through an attestation from the employer (article 29).
Aminata, who has worked for two years, meets the activity condition. Ségou Confection simply has to give her the two attestations.
If the employer keeps paying the salary
An employer that continues to pay all or part of the salary during the leave takes the employee's place in receiving the INPS daily allowance, on two conditions: being up to date with its obligations to the Institute, and paying at least the amount of the allowance (article 31). A company that is behind with its contributions loses this option.
What you need to do
- Give the employee the attestation that work has stopped and the salary attestation.
- Check that the company is up to date with its contributions before continuing to pay the salary.
- Keep a copy of the documents sent to the INPS.
5. Can the contract be terminated during maternity?
Maternity leave is a case of suspension of the contract (Labour Code, article L.34). When the employee cannot return at the end of the leave because of illness, the suspension continues, the employer compensates her under article L.37, and "throughout the period of suspension, the employer may not terminate the employment contract" (Labour Code, article L.183).
This sentence appears in relation to illness following the leave. The prudent reading is to apply it to the whole period of suspension, leave included.
| Period | Termination by the employer |
|---|---|
| Pregnancy, before leave | Only for legitimate grounds unrelated to the pregnancy (L.51 and L.4) |
| 14 weeks' leave and 3-week extension | To be ruled out: the contract is suspended (L.34 and L.183) |
| Suspension for illness at the end of leave | Prohibited throughout the suspension (L.183) |
| Return, until the child is 15 months old | Only for legitimate grounds unrelated to maternity (L.51 and L.4) |
The Code prohibits any discrimination based on sex (article L.4), and every dismissal must rest on legitimate grounds proven by the employer (article L.51). To go further, see Equality at work.
During suspension, you do not terminate. Before and after, you never terminate because of maternity.
What you need to do
- Put any termination plans on hold during the leave, its extension and any illness-related suspension that follows.
- Check that any ground for termination before or after the leave is unrelated to maternity.
6. After the birth: breastfeeding, leave and the father's side
The breastfeeding hour
For fifteen months from the birth, the mother is entitled to breastfeeding breaks at the workplace, up to one hour per working day, with no reduction in pay (Labour Code, article L.184). During this period, she may also terminate her contract under the conditions of article L.178.
The implementing decree specifies how it is organised (article D.189-11):
- the hour is split into two thirty-minute periods, one in the morning and one in the afternoon;
- the times are set by mutual agreement, or failing that in the middle of each half-day;
- the mother may always breastfeed her child on the premises;
- a breastfeeding room must be set up, following a formal notice from the labour inspector, in or near establishments employing more than twenty-five women.
With 60 women, Ségou Confection is concerned. For the three weeks after returning to work, Aminata must not carry, push or pull any load (article D.189-13).
Leave entitlements
Periods of rest for women after childbirth count as working time for paid leave (Labour Code, article L.149). Maternity leave is not deducted from the service taken into account for the seniority bonus (article L.97). Mothers are also entitled to one extra working day of leave for each child under 15 (article L.155).
The father's birth leave
For each birth, a salaried head of family is entitled to three days' leave, taken within a fifteen-day period including the date of birth and paid as working time. The INPS then reimburses these sums to the employer (Social Security Code, articles 33 to 35).
What you need to do
- Set in writing, with the employee, the times of the two half-hour breastfeeding breaks.
- Provide a breastfeeding room if the establishment employs more than twenty-five women.
- Include maternity leave and the extra day per child when calculating leave.
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Adapt the post as soon as the pregnancy is notified: no loads, no dangerous work, no night work in an industrial undertaking.
- Grant 14 weeks' leave, 6 of them before the expected date, and extend it in the event of an early birth.
- Never employ the employee during the prohibition period, even if she wishes to work.
- Give the employee the attestations needed for the INPS daily allowance, and stay up to date with your contributions.
- Do not start any termination during the suspension, and never because of maternity.
- Provide one paid breastfeeding hour a day for fifteen months after the birth.