Maternity Leave of Up to 6 Months and Paternity Leave: How a Small Team Plans Cover

Indonesia's Law Number 27 of 2026 on Employment Protection, in force since 28 October 2026, sets maternity leave at three months, extendable by up to three more months in special conditions. According to Fortune Indonesia's summary (9 November 2026), a husband also gets two days of accompanying leave after the birth, which can be extended to three days.

For a large company, one person away for six months is a scheduling matter. For a team of eight, it can mean an entire function goes dark: the main cashier, the order admin, or the only person who knows the regular customers. This article sets out the Indonesia maternity leave rules as reported, then looks at how a small team can prepare.

The provisions as reported

Fortune Indonesia summarises the following:

Several things are not explained by the source, and we will not guess:

• What "special conditions" means for the extension. The coverage gives no detail.
• Pay during the first three months. The source only states pay during the extension. Do not infer it from the fourth-month figure.
• Any exemption for small businesses. The source mentions none.

Everything above comes from a single media source. For the three open points, read the text of the law on the State Secretariat's legal documentation site (JDIH) or ask a consultant.

Plan for six months, not three

From here on, this is our advice.

Because the extension depends on conditions that only become known close to or after the birth, you cannot tell at the outset whether the leave will be three months or six. The safe approach is to build a cover plan that can run for six months and be glad if three turns out to be enough.

Start the conversation as early as is comfortable, in an ordinary tone. The aim is not to ask about private matters but to agree three things: the expected start date of the leave, which tasks need to move, and how the employee would like to be contacted during leave, if that is needed at all and she is willing.

Choose the form of cover

Small teams usually pick one of three options, each with consequences:

• Share the work among existing colleagues. The cheapest, but only realistic if the work can be split and others have capacity. Watch for overtime piling up: overtime has its own limits and conditions.
• Step someone up temporarily. A more junior staff member takes the role for the duration, with a temporary pay adjustment. Good for developing people, provided their own work is also covered.
• Hire temporary help. The clearest division of work, but with cost and training time. Leave cover is temporary by nature, yet the contract form still needs checking against the fixed-term contract rules, which this law also changed.

Handover: write it, do not tell it

A spoken handover on the last day almost always fails. Ask the employee to prepare handover notes over the two to four weeks before leave, while working as usual. They should cover:

1. Routine tasks by day, week and month, with deadlines.
2. Work in progress and where each item stands.
3. Key contacts: suppliers, regular customers, couriers, with the habits of each.
4. Access: accounts, passwords and keys held. Move ownership to the business, not to the replacement personally.
5. What usually goes wrong and how to fix it.

Then run a shadow period of one to two weeks: the replacement does the work while the employee going on leave looks on.

Do not forget customer conversations

This is the part most often missed. If customers have been contacting that employee on her personal number, the entire conversation history, the price promises and the unfinished orders leave with her phone for months.

Before the leave starts:

• Move customer communication to a number owned by the business.
• Note open commitments per customer: quotes awaiting an answer, goods promised, complaints not yet closed.
• Introduce the replacement to key customers before the last day, not after.

This is where a tool helps. With a shared WhatsApp inbox on the business number, several staff can see the same conversations, and the notes and follow-up tasks per customer stay put when a person goes on leave. Polynusa provides this; details are on the pricing page.

Work out the cost now

During the leave you may be paying two lines at once: the wage of the employee on leave and the cost of cover. For the extension, the figures have been reported: full pay in the fourth month and 75% in the fifth and sixth. For the first three months, confirm the rule first, because the source does not state it.

Make a simple month-by-month estimate for six months: what is paid to the employee on leave, plus the cost of a replacement or the extra pay for colleagues who absorb the work. Put it into your cash projection so it is not a surprise in month five.

Smaller things to prepare as well

• A husband's accompanying leave is only two to three days, but it comes at short notice. Make sure each male employee has one colleague who can cover his core tasks for a few days.
• Lactation facilities are mandatory. The source does not describe what form they must take. In a cramped workplace, start with a clean, enclosed space that can be locked, then adjust once the details are clear.
• Menstrual leave and rest after a miscarriage belong in your written leave rules, so staff know their entitlements without having to ask.

Note: this article summarises news reports and is not legal advice. Confirm the pay rules during leave and the conditions for an extension for your business with an employment consultant or your local manpower office.

Sources

• Fortune Indonesia, 9 November 2026

FAQ

How long is maternity leave under Law 27/2026?

According to Fortune Indonesia, three months, extendable by up to three more months in special conditions.

What is paid during the extension?

Full pay in the fourth month and 75% in the fifth and sixth months, according to Fortune Indonesia's summary.

How much leave does a husband get when his wife gives birth?

Two days of accompanying leave after the birth, which can be extended to three days.