(1) In any public or private industrial or commercial undertaking or any branch thereof, or in any agricultural undertaking or any branch thereof, a woman-
(a) shall have the right to leave her work if she produces a medical certificate given by a registered medical practitioner stating that her confinement will probably take place within six weeks;
(b) shall not be permitted to work during the six weeks following her confinement;
(c) if she is absent from her work in pursuance of paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection and had been continuously employed by her then employer for a period of six months or more immediately prior to her absence, shall be paid not less than fifty per cent of the wages she would have earned if she had not been absent; and
(d) shall in any case, if she is nursing her child, be allowed half an hour twice a day during her working hours for that purpose.
(2) Subsection (1) (c) of this section shall have effect notwithstanding any law relating to the fixing and payment of a minimum wage.
(3) No employer shall be liable, in his capacity as an employer, to pay any medical expenses incurred by a woman during or on account of her pregnancy or confinement.
(4) Where a woman-
(a) is absent from her work in pursuance of subsection (1) (a) or (b) of this section; or
(b) remains absent from her work for a longer period as a result of illness certified by a registered medical practitioner to arise out of her pregnancy or confinement and to render her unfit for work, then, until her absence has exceeded such a period (if any) as may be prescribed, no employer shall give her notice of dismissal during her absence or notice of dismissal expiring during her absence.
(5) In subsection (1) (d) of this section, "child" includes both a legitimate and an illegitimate child.
Section 54 of the Labour Act in Nigeria
Act structure