The peculiarities of maternity leave pay in Brazil

Abstract

This research presents the peculiarities of maternity leave pay as a public policy to protect women. It addresses the concept and legal nature of the benefit, based on current legislation and doctrine, highlighting the constitutional and legal protection for mothers and pregnant women, beneficiaries, the substitutive nature of the payment and the need to meet the legal requirements, emphasizing the period and method of payment, amounts and waiting periods. It highlights the employer’s responsibility to advance the amount while Social Security takes on the final cost in the case of the employee under the Consolidation of Labor Laws, addressing the forms of reimbursement, including after electronic social information became mandatory. Situations of early childbirth, stillbirth and the possibilities of extending the period are analyzed, concluding that the effectiveness and applicability of the period can be expanded based on knowledge of its nuances.