Maternity Leave in India: Is It True That Private Companies Don't Pay Salaries?

Dear All,

Can anyone tell me the maternity leave rules for private concerns in India? As per our company rules, there is no salary during the maternity leave. In cases where the salary is less than ₹10,000, employees will come under the ESI Act. Those who are earning a salary above ₹10,000 will not receive any salary. Is this true? Please help me.

Dear [Company Name],

It has come to my attention that your company may be in violation of the law. As per the Maternity Benefit Act 1961, every employee who is not covered under the ESI is entitled to 12 weeks of leave with wages, provided they have completed 80 days of service in your company.

Regards,
JS Malik

Dear,

You may approach the law enforcement agency, i.e., the area labor office of your region.

Regards,

R.N. Khola

(Labor Law & Legal Consultants)
09810405361

Thank you so much... I have one more doubt. Is the company required to pay the full wages during the maternity period? For example, if the employee's salary is $12,000 per month, then, will the company pay the full wages (basic, DA, HRA, PF, and other allowances) or only the basic pay?

Dear,

The employed woman who is entitled to have maternity benefits will receive full wages during her leave period.

Regards,

R.N. Khola
(Labour Law & Legal Consultants)
09810405361

Hi,

You have to pay her wages for 12 weeks if not covered under ESIC, provided she has rendered at least 80 days of service in the company.

Regards,
G. Venkat

Please clear my doubt. I am working for a garment industry which area is not covered under the ESI Act. Will I get maternity benefits? If so, how?

Dear G. Chandramohan,

For claiming maternity benefits, you are required to serve notice under Section 6 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, in the format as prescribed in your State Rules along with the certificate from the doctor regarding your pregnancy to your employer.

Regards,

R.N. Khola
(Labour Law & Legal Consultants)
09810405361

Dear All,

My HR Manager says, due to the company's bad financial situation, the management is not able to pay the salary during my maternity leave. So, they are forcing me to resign from my job now. They are not providing anything in writing or communicating through email. Everything has been conveyed orally until now.

I am feeling helpless. Please advise me on what to do next?

My company is located in Mylapore, Chennai. Can you please let me know who is the right person to contact regarding this issue and where the labor office in Chennai is located?

Thank you.

Every woman who is in continuous employment for a period of six months with the same employer, whether in the same or different commercial establishments, will be entitled to maternity benefit.

Total leave duration shall be six weeks immediately preceding the day of delivery and following the day of such maternity benefit, and in such manner as may be prescribed.

Provided that no woman employee shall be entitled to receive such benefit for any day during any of the aforementioned periods on which she attends work and receives wages thereof.

The payment of maternity benefit accruing to a woman employee shall be made to her at any time not later than one week after receipt of intimation in writing about the date of her delivery.

Payment in respect of the claim of maternity benefit shall be made by the employer to the woman employee concerned or to a person authorized by her in writing.

However, no woman employee having more than two children shall be eligible for maternity benefit.

This leave policy regarding the availing of privilege leave and carrying forward of leave to the following year will also apply to employees on maternity leave or extended sick leave.

Ms. Vasanthi,

Whether the company has refused to pay your salary while you are on maternity leave, I presume you have followed the maternity leave process, including submitting a proper leave application and informing the company of the date of delivery. If they refuse to pay the salary you are entitled to during maternity leave, you can approach the Labour Commissioner located in DMS, Teynampet, Chennai.

Gopu

I am a doctor, employed as a full-time consultant at a Private Hospital in Mumbai. Will I be eligible for leave under the Maternity Benefit Act? If yes, how long, without any monetary consequence?

A competent authority may grant to a female officer, maternity leave on full pay for a period of 90 days from the date of its commencement.

This amendment shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from 29th July 1980.

[G.O.(P)96/81/Fin.,dt. 5-2-1981]



Note 1.- Maternity leave is also admissible to temporary female officers under this rule.

Note 2.- [Deleted]

[G.O.(P)96/81/Fin.,dt. 5-2-1981]



Note 3.- The female candidates undergoing pre-appointment stipendiary training may be allowed leave for maternity purpose to the extent envisaged under this rule on full rate of stipend admissible. The benefit of this leave may also be granted in the case of miscarriage/abortion subject to the same conditions as laid in Rule 101 below.

This amendment shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from 1st August 1973.

[G.O.(P) 308/74/Fin.,dt. 20-9-1974]



Note 4 Maternity leave under this rule and Rule 101 shall be admissible to provisional female recruits continuing in service beyond one year provided they would continue in service but for proceeding on such leave.

This amendment shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 2nd July 1969.

[G.O.(P) 825/80/Fin.,dt. 31-10-1980]

Ruling

The expression ‘full pay' occurring in the above rule means pay as admissible to an officer under Rule 92, Part I, Kerala Service Rules.

[G.O.(P) 413/90/Fin.,dt. 7-8-1990]

101.

Leave under Rule 100 above may also be granted to female officers in cases of miscarriage including abortion subject to the condition that the leave does not exceed six weeks and application for the leave is supported by a certificate from the medical attendant.

102.

Maternity leave may be combined with leave of any other kind but leave applied for in continuation of the former may be granted only if the request be supported by a medical certificate:

*Provided that no medical certificate shall be necessary for grant of any leave for a period not exceeding sixty days in continuation of maternity leave.

*Effective from 5th June 1978.

[G.O.(P) 428/79/Fin.,dt. 24-4-1979]

NoteRegular leave in continuation of maternity leave may also be granted to a female officer on her producing a medical certificate to the effect that the new born baby requires personal attention of the mother and her presence by the side of the baby is absolutely necessary.

Explanation.—The kinds of leave coming under regular leave mentioned in the Note are Earned Leave, Half Pay Leave, Leave Not Due and Leave Without Allowances only.

I would like to know when 6 months of maternity leave will become applicable for software companies. I will soon be going on maternity leave.

I have a query. I am on a third-party payroll and have a one-year contract with the company, which will end on 31.12.2010. I am in the fifth month of pregnancy. My company has a 3-month maternity leave policy:

1. Can I take 3 months of maternity leave in one slot after delivery?
2. Or do I have to take 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after delivery?
3. When should I submit the leave application?
4. Are these maternity leaves paid or without pay?

Please advise.

Thanks & Regards

Dear All,

Maternity Benefits Eligibility Queries

I want to know:

1. If an employee joined before one month ago, is she eligible to receive maternity benefits?

2. In consideration of the same situation as above, if the company doesn't have more than 10 female workers or employees, is one of them eligible for maternity benefits after completing one month of joining?

3. If the same lady mentioned above is receiving a consolidated gross salary of ₹15,100, is she eligible to receive maternity benefits?

Please clarify my query.

Regards,

Dear Member, you are allowed to have maternity benefits in the form of maternity leave for 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after delivery. These are paid leaves.

To claim maternity benefits, you are required to provide notice under section 6 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, in the format prescribed in your State Rules, along with a doctor's certificate regarding your pregnancy to your employer before going on leave.

With Regards,

R.N. Khola

According to section 5(2) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, every woman employee becomes entitled to receive maternity benefits if she works for a continuous period of 80 days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery. If the woman employee is not covered under the ESI Act, 1948, then in that case, she is eligible to have maternity benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961.

With Regards,
R.N. Khola

Dear Sir,
There are some IT companies that offer 1-year unpaid maternity leave. I wanted to know:

1. Is unpaid maternity leave counted as experience?
2. If someone has completed 5 years in the same organization, but this includes 1 year of unpaid maternity leave, are they eligible for gratuity?

Regards,
Riya

Hi, where can I get maternity leave information for private limited companies in Gujarat? Are these leaves excluding the days of normal leave granted to all employees for a span of one year? Will the bonus accrue for that period? Does the definition of the number of days (80 days) in service by a female employee include the probation period or only from the date of confirmation?

Can someone help me, please?

Thanks and regards,
Daisy

I have been employed for the past 5 years with a large Private Ltd firm in India. Since February 2010, I have been on maternity leave and I delivered a baby in the last week of March. Due to no available family support, I could not rejoin services. The employers paid me my salary for the designated 84 days of maternity, and after that, I have been on leave without pay. In the intervening months, I kept on requesting an extension of leave via email. Last month, they contacted me by phone and said that I should rejoin or resign. Again, last week they called to say that they cannot extend my leave further. I am not in a position to join as my baby needs periodic feeding (she's 5 months old now), and I live far away from the office (Home is in Gurgaon, office in Faridabad). All this time, the employers have not communicated anything in writing. Can the employer now dismiss me or terminate my employment without written notice?

Sir, could you please tell me when one can avail maternity leave, i.e., how many days before and after the delivery? Also, can a woman choose to take leave only after the delivery?

Dear Member,

Please go through Section 5 of The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 for your query.

Regards,
R.N.Khola

Maternity Leave Letter

Hi All, I am working in a private company as an Account Executive. I am the only employee in this office and currently receive a salary of Rs. 10,500 per month. Now, I am two months pregnant, and I would like to inquire if the company provides both salary and leave for three months as maternity leave. Before joining, I inquired with my employer about medical allowances for employees, and he informed me that there are none. Additionally, I am not enrolled in the Employee State Insurance (ESI).

Please advise me on how to draft a letter requesting maternity leave and my salary for the next three months. Awaiting a valuable response.

Regards, Gracy

Can anyone tell me when we receive the maternity leave salary? Can we get it in advance? Is there a rule that states the salary will be received after we rejoin the job following maternity leave?

Thanks and regards,
Daisy

If any woman employee is entitled to receive maternity benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, then the answer to your query lies in Section 6(5) of this Act, which is reproduced below for your reference.

Section 6 Sub-section (5):

The amount of maternity benefit for the period preceding the date of her expected delivery shall be paid in advance by the employer to the woman upon the production of such proof as may be prescribed that the woman is pregnant. The amount due for the subsequent period shall be paid by the employer to the woman within forty-eight hours of the production of such proof as may be prescribed that the woman has delivered a child.

Regards,
R.N. Khola

The employer will pay 6 weeks' advance salary before childbirth and the remaining 6 weeks' salary within 48 hours of the child's birth. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

Thanks and regards,
Daisy

Here, 80 days of actual working is the qualifying period {sec.5(2)} for getting maternity benefits (leaves). Twelve weeks, i.e., 84 days, is the benefit period {sec. 5(3)}.

Regards,
R N Khola

Dear Daisy, Your understanding does not require any correction. It is again submitted that according to section 5(3), the maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit shall be twelve weeks, of which not more than six weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery.

With Regards,
R.N. Khola

Thanks, Khola Sir, The employer will pay 6 weeks' advance salary before childbirth and the remaining 6 weeks' salary within 48 hours of childbirth. Please correct me if I have understood differently.

Thanks and regards,
Daisy

Understanding the 12-Week Payment for the Maternity Benefit Act

I am an HR head in a chemical distribution company, and we are covered under the Bombay Shops & Establishment Act. I have handy information that states: "As per the Maternity Benefit Act, a woman employee who has worked at least 80 days during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of expected delivery is to be given leave with salary for 12 weeks. This leave can be availed as 6 weeks prior to the date of expected delivery and six weeks after the delivery. It is not mandatory that she should avail 6 weeks leave prior to the date of delivery, but she can take the entire 12 weeks leave after the delivery."

My management refers to the bare act, which states 6 weeks prior to the date of expected delivery and 6 weeks after the delivery. We are facing a maternity benefit case in the organization for the first time, and the lady did not take leave before delivery at all. She was working until the last day of the week, i.e., Saturday, and gave birth on Sunday.

Management says that since she did not take 6 weeks of leave before delivery, that payment is not applicable to her, and the company will only pay her for the 6 weeks after delivery. I cannot find any circular to clarify this to our management.

Please help.

Regards,
Yogita

As already explained to Ms. Daisy, it is clarified that according to Section 5(3) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit shall be twelve weeks, of which not more than six weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery. There is no special notification to this effect. We are to understand this section only, i.e., Section 5(3). According to this section, the eligible woman employee is allowed to take a maximum of 6 weeks of maternity leave before the expected date of her delivery out of the 12 maximum weeks of leave. However, she cannot be forced to take these 6 weeks of maternity leave before delivery.

Opinion submitted as requested.

Regards,
R.N. KHOLA (LL&IR)

[Welcome Skylark Associates](http://www.skylarkassociates.com/)

Maternity Leave Modifications

Recently, this law has been modified by increasing the number of days. Maternity leave has been extended to 6 months in the case of delivery and 3 months in the case of miscarriage. As far as salary is concerned, full wages are applicable during these leaves, except for some allowances such as traveling or transportation, etc.

PS: This is based on my knowledge, but it's advisable to consult with an expert.

Regards,
Sandeep

I am working in a private builder company (real estate developers). Our company has a written policy for availing maternity leave after 9 months of working. Coincidentally, I applied for maternity leave upon completing just 9 months of service. Now, the HR people are saying that the policy is for 1 year and not 9 months. Despite requesting it multiple times, they have not provided any written policy.

What should I do in this situation? I am currently on maternity leave, but the company is not paying me any salary. I need help and suggestions.

Thanks in advance,

Meeta

My company previously had a 9-month mandatory working period before applying for Maternity Leave. They now say it's a 1-year policy but have not provided any written policy in this regard. They are referring to the Maternity Benefits Act 1961, stating that as per this Act, the mandatory service period for applying for Maternity Leave is 1 year (12 months). Despite my efforts to persuade them, they are adamant about not paying me my due salary for the Maternity Leave period, considering it as Leave Without Pay.

Eligibility According to the Maternity Benefits Act

Please confirm my eligibility according to this Act.

Resolving the Issue with the Labor Commissioner

I would like to know how difficult it will be to resolve this issue with the Labor Commissioner's office, as it is a government department. What documents do I need to bring when visiting their office? Will involving a lawyer make any difference, or should I pursue this matter in front of the Labor Commissioner on my own?

Thank you again.

Hi Friends, I just wanted to know if a female employee has completed her 12-week maternity leave and she wants an extension of leave. Please let me know how many days of leave are paid or can be designated as Leave Without Pay (LWP) in this case, as per the law.

Regards,
Sohan Singh Gusain.

Hi, my wife is a teacher at a recognized private school. They were paying full wages for maternity leave until two months ago. However, when my wife applied for maternity leave last month, they informed her that they would only pay half her wages for the month without providing prior notice. We are unsure of what steps to take to claim her full wages. Regards.

I would like to know if I am eligible for ESIC, but I am not taking ESIC benefits. Will I be entitled to 12 weeks of pregnancy leave?

Regards

Maternity Leave and Employment Concerns

Good morning. As discussed this morning, please note that I have been working with a private limited company since December 2011. In November 2014, I went on leave, and before my departure, I submitted a leave notice to my boss. However, he did not accept it and instead asked me to resign. I chose not to resign and proceeded with my leave. Due to a C-section on 13/12/14, my recovery extended beyond three months, and I was unable to return by February 2015. With permission from my boss, I rejoined in March 2015.

Upon my return, when I requested pay for the three months of maternity leave, my boss denied it, claiming that the company does not provide such benefits. Additionally, he has refused to pay me the remaining balance of my yearly bonus. Upon my insistence, he has decided to terminate my employment.

I kindly request your advice on this matter.

Regards,
Monika Beri

If a woman takes her one and a half-year maternity leave and wants more time off, but the office authority denies it citing a heavy workload, can she file a complaint with the women's cell for harassment by the office authority? Is this justified? Does the woman have the right to do this? What rights do employers have in this situation?

Employers have the responsibility to provide a conducive work environment for all employees, including accommodating maternity leave requests within legal limits. Employees, including women on maternity leave, have rights that should be respected, and any denial of legitimate requests should be carefully considered to avoid potential legal issues. Women should be able to address concerns about harassment or unfair treatment through appropriate channels, such as filing a complaint with the women's cell, if they feel their rights are being violated.

What is the first process in maternity benefits like in terms of form submission and registration? Is it the bonus first payment before or after delivery? Please provide practical guidance on the process.

Government May Introduce Bill To Increase Maternity Leave In Parliament on 11th August 2016, but what is the effective date?

Dear Team,

It has been reported in most news channels and newspapers that the official maternity leave for the first 2 kids in India will change from 3 months to 6 months. Is this true? When will this become applicable across private MNCs?

Thank you.

Dear Member,

After obtaining the assent of the Honorable President of India, this latest amendment of 2016 will become enforceable. Until then, please wait.

R N KHOLA

Hi Sir,

I read your comment that after getting the assent of the Honorable President of India, the latest amendment of the Maternity Act will be enforceable. I am starting my maternity leave from Nov 1, 2016. Do you have any idea if there is hope for it to become enforceable by then? And if this becomes law during my leave period, will I still be entitled to new leave?

Thank you

Dear Mr. Khola,

Thank you for your response regarding the need to wait for the assent of the Honorable President of India. Do you have any idea how long it will take for this to become enforceable?

Hi Sir,

I have a query regarding the Act being followed in private companies. My wife's company, during initial discussions, mentioned that they follow the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961. However, they now state that for her to become eligible for leave, she has to work for a minimum of 160 days. Whereas, as per the Maternity Act, it is only 80 days. Currently, she has worked 120 days. Is it possible for a company to set its own eligibility criteria in terms of minimum working days?

Thanks,
Thomas

Dear Thomas,

Earlier, it was 160 days, but currently, only 80 days of working are required to qualify for maternity benefits from the employer under the MB Act. If the management insists on 160 days of work, then please consider approaching the area labor office for their intervention in this matter.

R N KHOLA

Outdated Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

Sir, I think the company in question is using a very outdated version of the Bare Act of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. It would be better if you, or the concerned employee, could obtain an updated copy of the said Bare Act of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and present it to the employer (see Section 5(2)). If the employer is unwilling to comply with the amended provisions, appropriate action can be taken as advised by the respected expert, Sh. R.N. Khola ji.

Amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

The amendment to reduce the eligibility condition to 80 days in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was made in 1989. It is surprising to see that the employer is still adhering to conditions that were changed nearly 27 years ago.

Dear Sir,

Our company has still not implemented a 6-month maternity leave policy; however, we heard that it is now 6 months. Is this a private decision of the company?