Maternity Leave Timing: Can You Adjust Weeks Before and After Delivery?

Hi all,

As per the law, a pregnant woman employee can avail 12 weeks of maternity leave with full wages, i.e., 6 weeks before the delivery and 6 weeks after the delivery.

Is it possible to avail the maternity leave 2 weeks before delivery and 10 weeks after delivery with full wages?

Dear all,

As per the law, a pregnant woman employee can avail 12 weeks of maternity leave with full wages, i.e., 6 weeks before the delivery and 6 weeks after the delivery. Is it possible to avail maternity leave 2 weeks before delivery and 10 weeks after delivery with full wages?

Thank you,
JS Malik
B.Vasanthi

Dear Sir,

If she takes leave for more than 12 weeks, that will be considered as "Leave without pay". If I am not wrong.

Regards, Jagdish Pathak

Hi Jagdish,

One month of leave and benefits is available for women who are ill due to pregnancy, delivery, premature birth, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, and tubectomy if medical evidence is provided. This is in addition to the normal 12 weeks of maternity leave and allowance. This is covered under the Indian Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

Regards,
Priya

Even if you apply for leave one day before delivery, provided you are healthy and have no complications, you can avail 12 weeks of leave after delivery. However, this is subject to certain conditions.

Dear Sir,

Could you please advise me about the contribution of PF and Payment of Bonus?

Regards,
Pradeep

Please search CiteHR. These Acts are being continuously discussed in one or other threads.

If a female employee completes 75 working days in the organization and she is pregnant, is she eligible for leave or not?

Regards,
B.S. Nathawat

Hi All,

Along with 6 weeks of paid maternity leave, one can avail another 3 months (12 weeks) of leave in continuation of paid maternity leave, but this leave will be without pay. I hope I am right here. Please let me know your comments.

Hi all,

Along with 6 weeks of paid maternity leave, one can avail another 3 months (12 weeks) of leave in continuation of paid maternity leave, but this leave will be without pay. In other words, 6 months of total maternity leave in which the first 3 months are paid leave, and the next 3 months are unpaid leave. I hope I am right here. Please let me know your comments.

I too am expecting a reply regarding the contribution of PF in those months. I am inquiring whether it is considered a break in service.

For Roopasomashekr,

Your statement does not seem to align with The Maternity Benefit Act of 1961.

Regards,

R.N. Khola

Dear B.S. Nathawat,

As per section 5(2) of the Maternity Benefit Act, the condition for taking the benefit is a minimum of 80 days of actual working. How can she avail of this benefit from the employer? For more details, you may refer to section 5 of this Act.

Regards,

R.N. Khola

Hi all,

How many minimum working days must a female employee serve to be eligible under the Maternity Act?

Hi all,

I also have a doubt here. PF will be paid when they are on paid leave, i.e., for the first 3 months. But how about the PF when they are on unpaid leave? Kindly clarify.

Dear Roopa Somashekar,

Mr. Khola has cleared you, yet you are repeating the same thing. Are you talking about the Maternity Benefit Act, or are you referring to some self-made act that includes a provision for three months of unpaid leave?

J S Malik

The condition is:
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. Hence, she can avail even for one day before her expected delivery, and the balance can be availed after delivery.

Regards,
Prasad

Dear Mr. Malik & Mr. Khola,

Thank you for your valuable replies. I need not discuss here about self-made act. I am very clear that according to the Maternity Benefit Act, a woman can avail of 3 months of paid leave. I hope you didn't understand my question properly. Let me be very clear about my question here. I have heard that along with these 3 months of paid leave, a woman can avail another 3 months of unpaid leave (so that the baby will be 5-6 months by that time and she can resume back to her work). This is what I have heard as most companies follow this. If you know anything about this, please feel free to reply.

Regards,
Roopashree

Dear Roopashree,

This is to inform you that The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 does not have any provision on the grant of three months unpaid leave. If this type of facility is provided by the industrial & other units in accordance with their Maternity Benefit policy, then it is appreciable. As we do not have any data available with us regarding this type of leave, we cannot confirm.

Regards,

R.N. Khola

Dear Sir,

There may be changes in the period of leave under maternity leave, i.e., 6 months for State/Central Govt., which would also be applicable to factory workers.

With regards,
Firaque Ahmed

[/QUOTE]

I think that there is a lot of confusion regarding a simple issue. Roopa, the act says a minimum of 84 days should be paid leave. Corporates take it as 3 months (90 days). Further, many corporates extend the benefit to the employee further, but without pay. Extending the leave, though not mandatory in the Act, the corporates provide the leave on humanitarian grounds. Trust this clarifies the confusion.

Regards

Please clarify for me, during the maternity leave period, is an allowance payable to employees? Such as outdoor allowance and conveyance allowance.

Regards,
Rakesh Dubey

Rakesh Dubey,

These payments are payable if they are part and parcel of wages payable to a female employee. For more details, you may refer to Section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

Regards,

R.N. Khola

Dear Prasad.sbr,

You have interpreted the law correctly. One can take prior-to-delivery leave from one day to six weeks, and the remaining after delivery.

Regards.

I had to take leave due to a missed abortion, but my organization deducted my earned leaves for the time I took off during this period. Can anyone suggest what I should do?

As per the Maternity Benefit Act, in order to avail of maternity leave, a female employee must work for not less than 80 days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery.

In the above clause, a minimum of 80 days of work is required. Additionally, a continuous service of 12 months is also mandatory.

Hi,

I had a miscarriage. I took a 3-day leave for my check-up and hospitalization. I got back to work last week because I didn't want work to be affected. Also, I wasn't aware of how severe my health condition would be. However, my health requires me to take rest. I am planning to take leave for at least 2 weeks.

As per the maternity benefit law, a woman who undergoes a miscarriage can avail of a 6-week paid leave.

1. I would like to understand if all companies provide a 6-week leave or if there is variation in that?
2. The policies are being framed, and as of today, there is no maternity policy in the organization. Does that mean that we are deprived of availing the leave?

Kindly shed light so that I can avail the leave.

Regards,
Arpita

Dear Friends,

I agree with Mr. Kumar. It is not possible to avail leave under the Maternity Benefit Act exceeding 6 weeks. When you take your 6 weeks of leave is really up to you. For example, you could take 2 weeks before your due date and the rest after delivery.

The 6 weeks are compulsory. However, the maximum number of days may vary according to the policy of an organization. Some companies offer anywhere between three to six months of leave. "If you have any casual leave or compensatory offs pending, you can use them during this period."

To avail the leave and benefits, you need to submit a written notice to your employer. The notice date should start from when you are going on leave. You may give the notice before or soon after delivery. It also depends on the company policy. Some organizations ask for notice before you take leave.

Even if you forget to submit the notice, you can still claim the maternity benefit. "It is advisable to have it in writing. It can be used as proof in court in case of any discrepancy."

Thank you.

Dear Arpita,

A woman employee can avail 6 weeks of paid leave in case of miscarriage. Actually, many organizations do not provide leave or do not disclose the availability of such a rule in the Act. Please raise a query to your HR department with a copy of the act if available to you, or refer to the abstract of the Act displayed in your office (display is mandatory for any establishment). The organization cannot deprive you of the leave you are entitled to.

Regards

Dear Roopa,

Thank you for your inputs. My organization has been kind enough to respond to my leave request, though I am not sure if they are considering it as a paid leave or an unpaid leave. However, I will get this clarified before I avail the leave. They have given me options on how I can take a full-time leave for about a week and then work half day for a few days. We are still discussing.

Arpita

Hi all,

Regarding maternity leave, is it possible to combine the maternity leave with earned leave or privilege leave? One of our employees applied for maternity leave of 12 weeks. She has 36 earned leave days which she wants to take with her maternity leave.

Kindly advise whether this is possible or not.

Sani