The maternity leave provisions have been instilled in international labor legislation as a
result of advocacy initiatives of the International Labor Organization (ILO), with the purpose
to improve the position of women in the labor market and ensure necessary protection of
mothers. Depending on the country, such provisions differ on different aspects such as the
length of leave offered, the level of pay, and the structure of payment.
Immediately after the 1999 war and while being under the interim administration of UNMIK,
Kosovo had enacted the first Law on Labor which regulated maternity leave, only to follow
with a new Law approved by the Assembly of Kosovo in 2011. The new provisions on
maternity leave set forth by this law set the maternity leave at a maximum of twelve (12)
months. Out of this amount, the law obliges employers to compensate workers for 70% of
their basic wage for the first 6 months; the next three months are covered by the government
at a rate of 50% of the average wage in Kosovo. The three last months are offered as unpaid
leave for those employees wishing to make use of them.