India: Employee Benefits & Compensation

In a recent ruling, the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench (“Bombay HC”) in Dr. Meenakshi Muthiah v. State of Maharashtra1, observed that the right to maternity leave is an integral facet of a woman’s fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,1950 (“Constitution”) and cannot be curtailed by service bonds, contractual obligations, or administrative instructions. The Bombay HC emphasised that maternity leave cannot be treated as a break in service and that penalising a woman for availing maternity leave would undermine the dignity of motherhood and the constitutional mandate of social justice.

On 21 November 2025, the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified India's four Labour Codes, the Code on Wages, 2019 (Wage Code); the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (IR Code); the Code on Social Security, 2020 (SS Code); and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code), bringing one of the most sweeping overhauls of Indian employment regulation since Independence into force.

On April 15, 2026, the High Court of Karnataka, in a significant order1, directed the State Government to implement its Menstrual Leave Policy across all establishments, both organised and unorganised.