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Maternity leave and benefits are offered to defend the dignity of motherhood by ensuring the woman's and her child's healthy upkeep when she is not working. Maternity leave and other maternity perks are becoming more popular as the number of female employees rises. The Maternity Benefit Act got formulated in 1961 with the goal of establishing a national maternity benefit. The Rajya Sabha enacted the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 in August 2016, and the Lok Sabha passed it in March 2017.
Maternity leave will increase from 12 to 26 weeks (paid leave) under the new law. Prenatal leave also got an increment of two weeks, reaching eight weeks in totality. A woman with two or more children, on the other hand, is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. In this situation, the prenatal leave is still six weeks.
Every establishment that is a factory, mine, or plantation, including any such establishment owned by the government, as well as every shop or place where people are employed, is covered by the Maternity Benefit Act.
A pregnant woman who gets employed in an establishment must notify her employer in writing about the sum to which she may be entitled under the Act, which will be paid to her or her nominee. The pregnant woman must specify the date from which she will be absent from work, which must be at least six weeks before her delivery date. If a mother did not provide notice while she was pregnant, she may do so as soon as possible after the baby is born. When the employer receives the notification, he or she must allow the lady to be absent from work for the period specified in the notice.
If an employer fails to pay any amount of maternity benefit to a woman who becomes entitled under this Act, or discharges or dismisses such woman during or on account of her leave from work in line with the requirements of this Act, the employer faces a year in prison, a fine of Rs. 5000, or both.
However, there are some limitations related to the Maternity Act-
No woman shall benefit from the Maternity Act unless she has worked for at least 80 days in the twelve months immediately before her expected delivery date in an establishment of the employer from whom she claims maternity benefits.
The maximum duration for which a woman gets her maternity benefits is 12 weeks, with no more than 6 weeks preceding her scheduled delivery date. If a woman dies within this time, the maternity benefit will only go on till the day of her death.
Employees' contracts were arbitrarily terminated in the case of Bharti Gupta (Mrs.) v. Rail India Technical and Economical Services Limited and Ors when she requested maternity leave. The Court found that Section 12 of the Act emphasizes the independent and inflexible nature of the responsibility by requiring that no woman employee shall get fired because she is pregnant. It is the employee's entitlement to get medical benefits, as such maternity benefits got sanctioned by law.
Furthermore, unless the discharge or dismissal is for gross misconduct, a woman who gets discharged or dismissed during her pregnancy will surely get her maternity benefits and a medical bonus.
For a more detailed understanding, refer to the" Bharti Gupta Vs. RITES & Others" case study by clicking the case below.
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