Mothers will be granted a 3-month maternity leave fully paid
Babies born to civil servants and any other employee under pension will this November begin enjoying presence of their mothers for an uninterrupted three months.
Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has directed employers including private and public institutions to implement the maternity protection law without further delay.
The law that was published in March this year comes into force after a ministerial order of October 2016 provided for modalities of registration and disbursement of maternity leave benefits.
The mother will benefit from a-3 month maternity leave fully paid by both the employees and employers.
Employers are required by law to pay maternity leave benefits due by RSSB and claim reimbursement which shall be made within the next thirty (30) days.
Every employer has to contribute 0.3% of every employee’s gross salary and 0.3% from their own pocket for every employee.
The total sum (0.6%) will be remitted by the employer to the Social Security Administration, which is a department of Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), not later than 15th of every month.
The money in this scheme is destined to cover the second half of maternity leave of every working mother. In this half which is 6 weeks the mother only used to get 20% of her salary. But according to the law, any beneficiary who subscribed for at least one month is entitled to the benefits.
Employers do it all
The employer is involved in the contribution process, from the beginning to the end.
At the beginning, the employer will have to register employees within 7 working days after their entering into service, using an application form that will be submitted to Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB)branch.
Declaration is done within first half of the month, with possibility of 15 days extension if an employee presents valid reasons why they cannot declare within the set deadline.
The employer will make a monthly declaration of contribution that will include; the month declared, name of every employee paying contribution and amount of money to be contributed.
Payment of contributions can be made in installments within thirty days from the date of receipt of notice of assessment if the employer, “presents justifiable reasons,” reads a provision of the ministerial order.
Part of this order, also reads, “In case the employer does not pay the amount indicated in the statement of amount due, the Social Security Administration proceeds with seizure of any movable or immovable property of the employer.”
The property will be auctioned in accordance with relevant laws.
In case of delay of payment, the employer will be fined with 1.5% of every month that was not covered.
