Govt employees to get 6-month paternity, child care leave in surrogacy cases

Women government employees can take 180 days of maternity leave in case they have children through surrogacy after amendments were announced to a 50-year-old rule by the Centre.

It has also allowed the "commissioning mother" (the intending mother of the child born through surrogacy) with child care leave besides paternity leave of 15 days to the "commissioning father", according to the changes made in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.

"In case of surrogacy, the surrogate, as well as the commissioning mother with less than two surviving children, may be granted maternity leave of 180 days, in case either or both of them are government servants," read the amended rules notified by the Personnel Ministry.

Till now, there were no rules to grant maternity leaves to women government employees in case a child was born through surrogacy.

"In case of a child begotten through surrogacy, the commissioning father who is a male government servant with less than two surviving children may be granted paternity leave of 15 days within the period of 6 months from the date of delivery of the child," the new rules said.

In case of surrogacy, the commissioning mother with less than two surviving children, may be granted child care leave, reads the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on June 18.

Existing rules allow "a female government servant and single male government servant" child care leave for a maximum period of 730 days during entire service "for taking care of two eldest surviving children, whether for rearing or for looking after any of their needs, such as education, sickness and the like".

The "surrogate mother" shall mean the woman who bears the child on behalf of the commissioning mother and the expression "commissioning father" would mean the intending father of the child born through surrogacy, the Personnel Ministry clarified in the amended rules.