[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page:en-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fmaternity-and-work":3},{"id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"short_title":7,"intro_text":8,"meta_description":9,"seo_title":10,"path":11,"content_type":12,"locale":13,"go_live_at":7,"first_published_at":14,"page_created_at":15,"published_at":14,"edit_url":16,"breadcrumbs":17,"seo":28,"rendered":37,"description":38,"body":39,"body_blocks":40,"call_to_action":41,"owner":48,"authors":56,"show_related_pages":58,"related_pages":59,"related_sites":133,"in_subsite":58,"contact_page_url":7,"banner_message":134},331,"maternity-and-work","Maternity and Work",null,"","Discover maternity leave rights and protections under labour laws in Lesotho. Learn about paid leave, job security, and employer obligations. Read more","Labour Laws Lesotho: Maternity at Work","\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fmaternity-and-work","labourlaw.labourlawpage","en_LS","2025-07-26T09:44:27.971000+00:00","2026-04-03T06:51:09.631930+00:00","\u002Fcms\u002Fpages\u002F331\u002Fedit\u002F",[18,21,24,27],{"title":19,"slug":20},"Lesotho","en-ls",{"title":22,"slug":23},"Work in Lesotho","work-in-lesotho",{"title":25,"slug":26},"Labour Law","labour-law",{"title":6,"slug":5},{"title":29,"description":9,"image":30,"canonical":31,"robots":32,"og_type":33,"twitter_card":34,"locale":20,"created_at":35,"last_modified_at":36},"Maternity Leave, Pregnancy and Pay - Lesotho","https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fmedia\u002Fimages\u002FSocial_media_preview_image_-_2025.2e16d0ba.fill-1200x630.png","https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fmaternity-and-work\u002F","index, follow","website","summary_large_image","2025-07-26T11:44:27.971000+02:00","2026-04-03T08:51:09.749029+02:00","\u003Cdiv class=\"cobra-ll-view\">\n\n  \n\n    \n    \n  \n  \u003Ch1>Maternity and Work\u003C\u002Fh1>\n  \u003Cspan class=\"lastupdated\">This page was last updated on:\n      2026-03-18\u003C\u002Fspan>\n\n  \n\n    \n  \n    \n      \n        \n          \n    \n    \n    \n        \u003Cdiv class=\"teaserItem\">\n          \u003Ch2>Maternity Leave\u003C\u002Fh2>\n          \u003Cp>The rules on maternity leave are specified in the Labour Act. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The general duration of maternity leave is fourteen weeks and comprises seven weeks before and seven weeks after the confinement. If confinement occurs after the anticipated date, prenatal leave is extended accordingly with no consequent reduction in postnatal leave. Compared with the 1992 Code, the maternity leave is raised by two weeks, from 12 to 14 weeks, under the Labour Act, 2024. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In order to avail the maternity leave, a pregnant female employee must give notice of her anticipated confinement. She must submit a written certificate signed by a medical officer certifying that the employee’s confinement will probably take place within seven weeks from the date of that certificate. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within 7 days immediately after her confinement, a female employee must deliver to her employer a written certificate signed by a medical officer certifying the date of confinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the pregnant woman suffers any illness or has any complications while being pregnant, they can be allowed to take an extra leave of one week (total post-natal leave being eight weeks). In such cases,  the employee is required to deliver to her employer a written certificate signed by a medical officer stating that she is unfit to return to work \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the event of birth of a stillborn child, the maternity leave is only three weeks. If the parents adopt a child, they are entitled to a bonding leave of 14 days from the day the child arrives at the family house. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Source: §191 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)\u003C\u002Fp>\n        \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n    \n\n\n        \n      \n        \n          \n    \n    \n    \n        \u003Cdiv class=\"teaserItem\">\n          \u003Ch2>Income\u003C\u002Fh2>\n          \u003Cp>Maternity leave is unpaid. There is no legal obligation for employers to pay wages during maternity leave, although a collective agreement or a contract of employment may provide for paid maternity leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In accordance with the Wages Notice 2024, the following terms of paid maternity leave are allowed for different sectors, provided that the worker has completed at least one year of service: \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>06 weeks paid maternity leave for textile, clothing and leather manufacturing; \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>12 weeks (6 weeks before confinement and six  weeks after confinement) paid maternity leave for all sectors other than those specified in “a” and “c”;\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>06 weeks paid maternity leave for private security sector \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Cp>The maternity leave benefit is limited to two confinements per employee (for a and b) during her employment with the same employer. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sources: §191 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024); Part K of the Labour Code Wages (Minimum Wages) Notice, 2024\u003C\u002Fp>\n        \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n    \n\n\n        \n      \n        \n          \n    \n    \n    \n        \n    \n\n\n        \n      \n        \n          \n    \n    \n    \n        \u003Cdiv class=\"teaserItem\">\n          \u003Ch2>Free Medical Care\u003C\u002Fh2>\n          \u003Cp>\u003Cspan>No provisions on free medical care could be identified from within the law.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n        \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n    \n\n\n        \n      \n    \n\n    \n      \n    \n      \u003Cdiv class=\"regulations\">\n        \u003Ch2>Regulations on Maternity and Work\u003C\u002Fh2>\n        \u003Cul>\n          \u003Cli>\n            Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n          \u003Cli>\n            Labour Code Wages (Minimum Wages) Notice, 2024\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n        \u003C\u002Ful>\n      \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n    \n\n    \n      \n    \n    \u003Cdiv class=\"related\">\n      \u003Ch2>Related Items\u003C\u002Fh2>\n      \n          _ll_jobprotection_URL_\n      \n          _ll_breastfeeding_URL_\n      \n          _ll_family_URL_\n      \n          _ll_sickleave_URL_\n      \n          _ll_employmentsecurity_URL_\n      \n          _CBA_FOLDER_URL_\n      \n    \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n    \n\n  \n\n    \n    \n\n  \n\n  \n  \n\n  \n    \u003Cstyle>\n\n      h1, h2, h3 {\n      font-weight: bold;\n      margin-top: 20px;\n      margin-bottom: 10px;\n      }\n      \n      .related a {\n        display:block;\n        border: 1px solid transparent;\n      }\n\n      ul ol, ol ol, ol ul {\n      font-size: 100%;\n      }\n\n    \u003C\u002Fstyle>\n\n  \n\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>","Your rights: maternity leave and pay in Lesotho – .","\u003Cdiv>\n\n\u003Cspan>This page was last updated on:\n      2026-03-18\u003C\u002Fspan>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Maternity Leave\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The rules on maternity leave are specified in the Labour Act. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The general duration of maternity leave is fourteen weeks and comprises seven weeks before and seven weeks after the confinement. If confinement occurs after the anticipated date, prenatal leave is extended accordingly with no consequent reduction in postnatal leave. Compared with the 1992 Code, the maternity leave is raised by two weeks, from 12 to 14 weeks, under the Labour Act, 2024. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In order to avail the maternity leave, a pregnant female employee must give notice of her anticipated confinement. She must submit a written certificate signed by a medical officer certifying that the employee’s confinement will probably take place within seven weeks from the date of that certificate. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within 7 days immediately after her confinement, a female employee must deliver to her employer a written certificate signed by a medical officer certifying the date of confinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the pregnant woman suffers any illness or has any complications while being pregnant, they can be allowed to take an extra leave of one week (total post-natal leave being eight weeks). In such cases,  the employee is required to deliver to her employer a written certificate signed by a medical officer stating that she is unfit to return to work \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the event of birth of a stillborn child, the maternity leave is only three weeks. If the parents adopt a child, they are entitled to a bonding leave of 14 days from the day the child arrives at the family house. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Source: §191 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Income\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Maternity leave is unpaid. There is no legal obligation for employers to pay wages during maternity leave, although a collective agreement or a contract of employment may provide for paid maternity leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In accordance with the Wages Notice 2024, the following terms of paid maternity leave are allowed for different sectors, provided that the worker has completed at least one year of service: \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>06 weeks paid maternity leave for textile, clothing and leather manufacturing; \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>12 weeks (6 weeks before confinement and six  weeks after confinement) paid maternity leave for all sectors other than those specified in “a” and “c”;\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>06 weeks paid maternity leave for private security sector \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Cp>The maternity leave benefit is limited to two confinements per employee (for a and b) during her employment with the same employer. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sources: §191 of the Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024); Part K of the Labour Code Wages (Minimum Wages) Notice, 2024\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Free Medical Care\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan>No provisions on free medical care could be identified from within the law.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Regulations on Maternity and Work\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\n            Labour Act, 2024 (Act No. 3 of 2024)\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\n            Labour Code Wages (Minimum Wages) Notice, 2024\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Related Items\u003C\u002Fh2>\n      \n          \u003Ca href='\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fmaternity-and-work\u002Fjob-protection'>Labour Laws Lesotho: Women's Job Protection\u003C\u002Fa>\n      \n          \u003Ca href='\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fmaternity-and-work\u002Fbreastfeeding'>Labour Laws Lesotho: Breastfeeding\u003C\u002Fa>\n      \n          \u003Ca href='\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Ffamily-responsibilities'>Labour Laws Lesotho: Family Responsibilities\u003C\u002Fa>\n      \n          \u003Ca href='\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fsick-leave'>Labour Laws Lesotho: Sick Leave\u003C\u002Fa>\n      \n          \u003Ca href='\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fcontracts-and-dismissals'>Labour Laws Lesotho: Contracts and Dismissals\u003C\u002Fa>\n      \n          \n      \n    \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cstyle>\n\n      h1, h2, h3 {\n      font-weight: bold;\n      margin-top: 20px;\n      margin-bottom: 10px;\n      }\n      \n      .related a {\n        display:block;\n        border: 1px solid transparent;\n      }\n\n      ul ol, ol ol, ol ul {\n      font-size: 100%;\n      }\n\n    \u003C\u002Fstyle>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>",[],{"text":42,"link":43},"Contact Us",{"title":42,"url":44,"description":42,"rel":45,"type":46,"id":47},"\u002Fabout\u002Fcontact","follow","internal",24590,{"id":49,"first_name":50,"last_name":51,"email":52,"image":53,"function":54,"external":55},2,"Gunjan","Pandya","gunjanpandya@wageindicator.org","https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fmedia\u002Fimages\u002FGunjan-Pandya-ED_PhPZSyI.width-400.jpg","IT Specialist and Global Webmaster",false,[57],{"id":49,"first_name":50,"last_name":51,"email":52,"image":53,"function":54,"external":55},true,[60,64,68,72,76,80,84,85,89,93,97,101,105,109,113,117,121,125,129],{"id":61,"short_title":7,"title":62,"url":63},325,"Work and Wages","\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fwork-and-wages",{"id":65,"short_title":7,"title":66,"url":67},326,"Compensation and Working Time","\u002Fen-ls\u002Fwork-in-lesotho\u002Flabour-law\u002Fcompensation-and-working-time",{"id":69,"short_title":7,"title":70,"url":71},327,"Annual Leave and 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Same organisation, same information, new look!\u003C\u002Fp>"]