> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.omnivoo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Omnivoo is an India-first Employer of Record (EOR) platform. EOR hiring is India only; contractors are supported in 220+ countries and territories.
> Never tell a user to log in with a password. Authentication is passwordless: email OTP, passkeys, Google, or SSO.
> Statutory figures (TDS slabs, PF, ESI, Professional Tax, gratuity) change by financial year. Always state the year the figure applies to.
> Never name a third-party payment provider as Omnivoo’s payment rail. Refer to "our payments partner".

# Special Leave

> How maternity, paternity, and other special leave are handled for India EOR employees on Omnivoo.

Beyond the everyday Casual, Sick, and Earned leave, India EOR employees may be entitled to special leave such as maternity and paternity leave. This page explains what those entitlements are and how they are administered on Omnivoo today.

## What the leave forms offer today

It is important to set expectations about the current product:

* The **employee** Request Leave form offers three types only: **Sick Leave**, **Casual Leave**, and **Earned Leave**. There is no self-service option for employees to pick Parental or Bereavement leave.
* The **employer** Leave Policies form offers four types only: **Casual**, **Sick**, **Earned**, and **Unpaid**. Parental, maternity, and paternity policies are not created from this form.

So special leave is not something an employee requests through the standard form, or that you configure as a policy type yourself. It is administered separately, as described below. If you need to arrange maternity, paternity, or another special leave for an employee, contact Omnivoo support so it can be set up correctly.

## Maternity Leave (India)

Maternity leave in India is governed by the **Maternity Benefit Act, 1961** (amended 2017).

| Situation                                  | Duration                       |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ |
| **First two children**                     | 26 weeks (182 days)            |
| **Third child onwards**                    | 12 weeks (84 days)             |
| **Adopting mother** (child under 3 months) | 12 weeks from date of adoption |
| **Commissioning mother** (surrogacy)       | 12 weeks from date of handover |

For India companies, Omnivoo can set up a default maternity leave policy of **182 days**.

<Info>
  Maternity leave is a statutory right under the Maternity Benefit Act and cannot be denied to an eligible employee.
</Info>

## Paternity Leave

Paternity leave is not mandated by a central statute for private-sector employees in India, but it is a common benefit. Omnivoo can set up a default paternity leave policy of **15 days** for India companies.

## How maternity and paternity policies are set up

Maternity (182 days) and paternity (15 days) are seeded as separate India default policies. They are not part of the "Apply India Statutory Defaults" button on the [Leave Policies](/leave-management/leave-policies) page (that button creates Casual, Sick, and Earned policies only). If you want maternity or paternity policies in place for your employees, contact Omnivoo support to have them set up.

## Other leave categories

Omnivoo's underlying leave system recognises further categories (for example bereavement, jury duty, military, and other leave). These are not selectable in the employee request form or the employer policy form today, so they are not employee self-service features. If an employee needs one of these, arrange it through Omnivoo support.

<Warning>
  Special-leave balances do not appear as cards on the employee Leave Balance page, which shows only Casual, Sick, and Earned. Do not rely on the standard request form for special leave; coordinate it with Omnivoo support instead.
</Warning>

## Related

* [Leave Policies](/leave-management/leave-policies) - the leave types and allowances you can configure yourself.
* [Requesting Leave](/leave-management/requesting-leave) - the standard request and approval workflow.
* [Leave request rules and limits](/leave-management/leave-rules-and-limits) - the validation rules for every request.