The Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) has fined the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Rs500,000 for unlawfully denying paternity leave to an employee.
According to reports, Federal Ombudsperson Fouzia Waqar ruled in favor of Syed Basit Ali, an officer serving as OG-1 at the SBP Banking Services Corporation (BSC), who applied for 30 days of paternity leave on April 10, 2025, after his son was born on April 4.
The bank rejected his application, stating that “no such leave existed under the prevailing policy of SBP” and only maternity leave was granted to female employees under the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act 2023.
Since SBP BSC falls under the administrative control of the federal government, he contended that SBP and SBP BSC could not selectively adopt provisions of the Act and grant maternity leave while denying paternity leave under the same statute.
SBP’s counsel countered that the bank, as an autonomous entity, was not bound by the act and that paternity leave had not been incorporated into its service rules. The bank’s defence focused heavily on matters of jurisdiction, claiming institutional autonomy exempted it from federal welfare legislation.
However, Ali presented evidence, including job advertisements and bidding documents, to demonstrate that SBP BSC adhered to federal regulations.
“The denial of paternity leave to the complainant, to which he is legally entitled as a father, while allowing maternity leave to female employees, constitutes clear gender-based discrimination,” Waqar ruled.
The judgment directed SBP to pay Rs400,000 to Ali within 30 days and that Rs100,000 rupees be deposited into the national treasury. The bank must also grant Ali 30 days of paid paternity leave and update its leave policies to align fully with the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act 2023.
The ruling further emphasised that statutory rights could not be overridden by internal policies and that federal institutions, including autonomous bodies, are bound by constitutional guarantees and welfare legislation.
“The order categorically rejected the long-standing claim of institutional autonomy used to deny statutory rights. State Bank of Pakistan is owned, controlled, and supervised by the Federal Government, and SBP Banking Services Corporation, as its wholly owned subsidiary, cannot escape the application of federal welfare legislation,” the ombudsperson added.