Microsoft extends maternity leave to 6 months for women staff

Microsoft India today announced that it has extended the maternity leave for its women employees to six months from the current three months.

The new maternity policy will be effective from February 1, 2016 and also benefit all women employees who are currently on maternity leave.

The company also said that the new changes were in addition to the company's continued support to its women employees by offering them the option of availing unpaid leave up to three months and flexible work arrangements up to two years.

Further, all male employees at Microsoft are eligible for two weeks of paternity leave. Additionally, to care for adopted children, mothers are eligible for eight calendar weeks of paid leave and fathers are eligible for two weeks of paid leave.

"At Microsoft, our continual endeavor is to support our employees in the best possible ways so they can thrive both at the workplace and in their personal lives. We understand how important it is for new mothers to not only be able to spend time with their babies but also be able to transition back to work effectively. The enhancements to our maternity benefits are intended to ensure our women employees have the time and support they need to embrace this new phase of life," said Rohit Thakur, Head of Human Resources, Microsoft India.

Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd.