Short answer. No. Refusing to admit a woman back to her work when she returns, for fear that she may become pregnant again, is expressly unlawful. That prohibition still stands, although the maternity leave it protects is now governed by Republic Act No. 11210 rather than the old Labor Code chapter.
What the law says
To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant.
Labor Code, Article 137 — Prohibited Acts Against Women. Read the full provision →
The right to be taken back
Article 137 of the Labor Code makes it unlawful for an employer To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant. The point of the provision is that maternity leave is leave, not an exit. The employment continues through it, and the employee is entitled to come back to her work at the end of it. This prohibition remains live law. What has moved on is the benefit behind it: Republic Act No. 11210 (2019) replaced the maternity leave the old chapter gave, changing both how long it runs and how it is claimed.
What a refusal usually looks like
Outright refusal is rare. What happens instead is that the post has been given to someone else, the schedule no longer has any shifts on it, the return date keeps moving, or the employee is offered something markedly worse and told to take it or leave. A return in name only is still a refusal to admit her back. An employer may of course reorganise for genuine business reasons that would have happened regardless, but the reason must be real and must be capable of being explained without reference to the pregnancy or to the possibility of another one.
Leave, benefits and the current law
Because Republic Act No. 11210 now governs maternity leave, the length of the leave, the conditions for qualifying and the mechanics of claiming the benefit come from that Act and the rules issued under it, not from the periods printed in the old Labor Code chapter. If someone quotes you a leave period taken from the Code text, treat it as history. Check the Act itself for the entitlement. The prohibition on refusing to take a returning employee back is separate from the benefit, and it applies whatever the leave arrangement was.
Practical steps if you are being kept out
Put your readiness to return in writing and keep a copy: the date your leave ends, the date you presented yourself, and the position you are returning to. Ask, in writing, for the reason you are not being taken back. Keep payslips, the employment contract, schedules and messages. If the reply is silence or a shifting explanation, that record is what a claim rests on. Labour claims are subject to time limits, so act promptly. This page gives general legal information, not advice on your own case, and nothing here can promise a particular outcome.