May an employee claim both Magna Carta of Women Leave benefits under R.A. No. 9710 and also her pay, if she resumes work before the end of her leave?

Yes, the employee can claim both Magna Carta Leave and her regular pay, if she decides to return to work before the end of her leave.

In G.R. No. 228236 entitled “House of Representatives v. Panga-Vega” promulgated on January 27, 2021, the Supreme Court held that a woman who took a Magna Carta Leave but returned to work a month before the end of the leave could receive both the paid leave and her salary.

The Court liberally construed the law in favor of women as the beneficiaries and applied the rules on maternity leave under the Labor Code, which provides that the commuted money value of the unexpired portion of the special leave need not be refunded, and that when the employee returns to work before the expiration of her special leave, she may receive both the benefits granted under the maternity leave law and the salary for actual services rendered effective the day she reports for work.

The Court added that the special leave benefit should be liberally interpreted to support the female employee so as to give her further means to afford her needs, may it be gynecological, physical, or psychological, for a holistic recuperation. It concluded that there is nothing in R.A. No. 9710 that bars this more humane interpretation of the law on this special leave benefit.

Nonetheless, since the purpose of the Magna Carta of Women is to protect the health and welfare of a woman, it would be prudent for the company to require the employee who seeks to return early to submit a medical certificate from a health professional declaring that she is already fit to work before accepting her back to work.

Click here for a copy of the Magna Carta of Women Law or Republic Act No. 9710.