Is the Maternity Leave Really Extended to 6 Months? Seeking Clarity on Recent Amendments

Hi All,

Recently, I heard through word of mouth that there has been an amendment in the Maternity Benefits Act regarding the extension of the leave period to 6 months. Is this information correct? I tried to find relevant details on some websites but was unsuccessful.

Please comment.

Regards, Ashwini Kumar

Dear Ashwini,

There has been no circular received from the Labour Department about an amendment in the number of leaves. Neither have we heard anything from any labour journal.

However, there has been an amendment in the Maternity Bonus recently. The bonus amount has been increased from Rs. 250/- to Rs. 1000/-.

Regards,
Bhushan

Subject: Circular on Maternity Benefits

Dear Team,

I am attaching the circular on maternity benefits for your reference.

Regards,
Bhushan

Hi Amit Goyal,

Please find the original Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill.

Thank you.

Hi Amit,

Thanks for sending the amendment. However, it is vague regarding "if no prenatal confinement and postnatal care is provided by the employer free of charge." Can you elaborate on this, please?

Regards,
Anuradha

Anuradha,

Postnatal care is the special care of the newborn after birth. If an employer is providing such a facility free of cost, then they are not liable to pay Maternity Bonus.

Nisha: Earlier, this amount was Rs 250, which is now proposed to be revised to Rs 1000. It's just a type of allowance given by the employer to the employee to help her meet the immediate expenses of the newborn child after birth.

Amit Goyal

Dear Amit,

Thanks a lot for the explanation.

One more thing, "no prenatal confinement" would mean? The word "confinement" is quite misleading because we can't force an employee to go on leave or take rest. We had a case wherein the employee worked until almost the last date of delivery.

Thanks again :D :D

Regards,
Anuradha

Hi Anuradha,

You have misunderstood the meaning of Prenatal Confinement. It is called confinement for the unborn child as he/she remains confined in the womb of the mother. Prenatal Confinement Care means all the care before expected delivery, and postnatal care means care after delivery. Hope everything is clear now.

Amit Goyal

Hi,

Thank you for the information in the previous posts. I read online about the amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act in 2007. Although the act is named the MB Act 2007, the bill was actually passed in February-March 2008. Does this mean that women who delivered after March 2008 can avail the benefits, or is it for deliveries before that?

What does "prenatal care" mean? Does it include doctors appointed by the company or expenses related to gynecological services provided by the company, or something else?

If a woman applies for or delivers a baby during the period after the bill was introduced in the houses of parliament (May 2007) and before it was passed, can she still benefit from the amendment?

If a woman is physically unable to reach work on time due to the child's feeding requirements but completes the required work hours, can she seek protection under the act?

How can she take advantage of nursing breaks if there is no creche in the office and her home is far from the workplace? Can she request flexibility in her in and out timings?

Thank you.

I read on the net about the amendment of the Maternity Benefit Act in 2007. Although the act is named the MB Act 2007, the bill was passed in February-March 2008. Does this mean women who delivered after March 2008 can avail the benefits, or was it before that?

What does prenatal care mean? Does it include doctors appointed by the company or the charges provided by the company for gynecological services? Or does it encompass something else?

If a woman applies for or delivers a baby during the period after the bill was introduced in the houses of parliament (i.e., May 2007) and before it was passed, can she still benefit from the amendment?

If a woman is physically unable to reach work on time due to the child's feeding requirements but completes her work hours, can she seek protection under the act?

How can she take advantage of nursing breaks if there is no creche in the office, and her home is far from the workplace? Can she request flexibility in her in and out timings?

Dear all,

Please let me know if there is any provision for seeking monthly salary during maternity leave and what is the duration for it.

Can anyone advise:

If a lady is availing her ML as per law, can she get other leaves in her credit (PL/CL/SL) as per the leave rules of any organization for her period of ML? Can the other leaves be credited to her account which she is entitled to during her maternity leaves?

Regards,
Saurabh

Can anyone advise if a lady is availing her ML as per law, can she get other leaves in her credit (PL/CL/SL) as per the leave rules of any organization for her period of ML (can the other leaves be credited to her account which she is entitled to during her maternity leaves)?

Regards,
Saurabh

Dear Aswin,

I read in some legal journals that some child and women welfare cells have raised an issue to increase maternity leave from 3 months to 6 months. The reason behind raising this issue is that employed mothers are unable to provide the necessary nutrition to their babies, which is affecting the growth of the future generation. This topic is still under discussion. Additionally, they are proposing a 15-day paternity leave for male employees at the time of their wife's delivery.

Thank you.

What is the eligible number of working days for a female employee to avail maternity leave?

Under the Maternity Act of 1961, a woman can take how many days of leave? As per my knowledge, it's about 12 weeks, but I read in a newspaper that there is a new amendment which states women can take 6 months of leave. Now, I don't know if it was passed by the government of India or not. So, I am confused! Please tell me the correct answer.

I am working in a medium-sized factory where 400 people are employed. I am not covered under ESI.

How many days of maternity leave am I entitled to?

Hi,

I have the same question. Whether a woman availing Maternity Leave is entitled to other leaves such as MLs and PLs for that financial year?

Waiting for a reply.

Shubhangi

The central government has already implemented the 6-month maternity leave. Not sure about the rest.

Hi all,

Yes, there has been an amendment in the maternity act. The period of leave has been increased from 12 weeks to 6 months, and the bonus has also been raised to up to 1000/=. Additionally, a new paternity benefit is also under regulation for the father of the child to care for the women and child.

According to me, the answer to the above post has not been provided. Therefore, I am making an attempt to resolve your queries.

Section 8 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

After the amendment, this section creates a liability on the employer to pay Rs. 1000 as a medical bonus if no prenatal confinement and postnatal care are provided by the employer free of charge. In the present context:

- **Prenatal** means the period before pregnancy.
- **Postnatal** means after pregnancy.
- **Confinement** means labor resulting in the issue of a living child or labor after 26 weeks of pregnancy resulting in the issue of a child, whether dead or alive. (Refer to Section 2(3) of the ESI Act, 1948)

So, if the employer has paid such charges to such a female employee, then the employer is exempted under Section 8 of the Maternity Benefit Act or vice versa.

Regards,
Gaurav

I am preparing for my third delivery in November. When I asked my employers for maternity leave with pay, they said that maternity leave with pay is only for the first two kids. When I referred to the maternity leave benefits, I couldn't find any number limitations on delivery. Can anyone help me find out whether we have any limitations on maternity leave with pay?

Understanding the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2016

I need help in understanding a doubt of mine regarding the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2016. Suppose a woman has applied for maternity leave as per the old rules (twelve weeks of leave), and while she was on leave, these amendments are notified by the government, making the new rule of twenty-six weeks applicable.

Under such a scenario, can a woman (who was already on leave for 12 weeks as per the previous act before the amendment) legally extend her leave to 26 weeks per the new amendments? I am sure many people will have this question.

Any help or guidance on this will be humbly appreciated.

Thanks

Dear friends,

Yes, these doubts would emerge one after the other until clarity is available. Let us await the proper gazette notification, which is likely to be issued once the President's assent is given for the bill now passed by the parliament. Until then, it is not proper to answer such queries with a hypothetical viewpoint. Hope the notification would address these queries.

To clarify further on Anuradha's query, "natal" (a Latin word) means 'of or relating to birth'. Pre-natal means "before birth" and post-natal means "after birth". These terms are available in any dictionary, which the inquirer should make use of as frequently as possible. Referring to and gaining knowledge should be a habit of everyday life.

Maternity Leave Applicability

Maternity leave is not applicable "before pregnancy", but only after the pregnancy in a female employee is confirmed and after the birth of a child, termination, abortion, or 'stillborn' as the case may be. Refer to the Act for further information on this.