(c)
Under section 14 of the Employment Ordinance an employer shall pay a female employee maternity leave pay for the period of maternity leave taken by her and to which she is entitled under sections 12(2)(a) and (c) if she :
(i)
has been
been employed by that employer under contract for a period of not less than 40 weeks before the expected date of her commencement of maternity leave;
a
continuous
(ii)
has no children or no more than two children born to her and of any age at the time she gives notice of her intention to take maternity leave and has produced to her employer a statutory declaration to that effect; and
(iii)
has given notice
as required under the
ordinance and
produced medical certificates as required by the employer under the ordinance.
The rate of maternity leave pay is two-thirds of the female employee's monthly rate of pay, or two-third of her average daily wage, other than overtime pay.
not an officer who has Under Civil Service Regulation 1297(2), completed 40 weeks of resident service, or who has three or more surviving children, will commence her maternity leave by first taking any earned leave, and then may be granted maternity leave without pay to cover a total absence from duty of up to ten weeks, of which not more than six weeks should follow confinement. An officer who has completed forty weeks of resident service and who has less than three surviving children will be granted full pay maternity leave to
cover a total absence from duty of up to ten weeks, of which not more than six weeks should follow confinement. If an absence of more than six weeks after confinement, or a total absence of more than ten weeks, is recommended by a Government or Hospital Authority medical
medical officer or a private medical practitioner, a Head of Department may grant maternity leave without pay after the end of the sixth week following confinement, or the end of the tenth week of the total absence, whichever comes earlier, provided that the total absence from duty is not allowed to exceed six months. The Secretary for the Civil Service may grant further maternity leave without pay on the recommendation of
a Medical Board.
Free services are offered at maternal and child health centres where For ante-natal and post-natal health consultations are conducted for mothers.
a deliveries in public hospitals or maternal homes, women are charged maintenance fee of HK$43 a day. This daily maintenance charge may be waived if
necessary.
(d)
The provision of proper accommodation at the workplace to facilitate the nursing of children of female
children of female employees during working
working hours would encounter immense administrative and financial difficulties in Hong Kong where space is scarce and expensive. There is therefore no provision for a woman to
nurse her child during working hours.