New to the Company? Navigating Maternity Leave Rules for Start-Up Employees

Maternity Leave Rules for New Employees

What are the rules for maternity leave for employees who have joined the company for less than a year? Is paid leave of 3 months mandatory? Ours is a new start-up company, so do the same rules apply to all? What is the norm in the industry?

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Regards

Hi Pallavi, to answer your query:

Any female candidate who has served a minimum of 180 days in the organization is eligible for maternity leave.

Eligibility and Duration of Maternity Leave

A maternity leave can be availed by a female candidate upon submission of a medical certificate stating the expected date of delivery. As per the rule, a 12-week paid leave is granted to the female candidate, out of which a minimum of 6 weeks is to be taken post-delivery. The remaining 6 weeks can be adjusted pre/post-delivery as per the candidate's convenience.

The payment of salary during maternity leave will include the average of Basic and Dearness Allowance and HRA, which was paid in the last three months. Bonus, PF, Gratuity, and any other allowances are not accounted for.

Protection and Additional Leave

The employer cannot terminate the employee on the grounds of her maternity leave.

If the female becomes unwell due to her pregnancy, she is given 1 month's extended paid leave. Proof of illness, however, is to be submitted (medical certificate).

If the female has a miscarriage or undergoes an abortion, she is entitled to at least 6 weeks of paid leave from the date.

In Case of Complications During Delivery

- If the mother and the child die: The company will pay the salary only till the period including the day on which the candidate dies.
- If the mother dies after giving birth to the child: The company will have to pay the maternity salary to the family till 6 weeks or till the child is alive (whichever is earlier).

Please find attached a PDF on the maternity act.

Regards

For maternity leaves, is it compulsory that ESIC is there? In our organization, there is no PF and ESIC. So, can employees still get the benefit of maternity leaves?

Eligibility for Female Employees under the ESI Scheme

If a female employee is covered under the ESI scheme, she is eligible. The female employee will receive cash benefits from the ESI department. The eligibility criteria for female workers include working two continuous periods.

Regards

For maternity leaves, is it compulsory that ESIC is there? In our organization, there is no PF and ESIC. So, can employees get the benefit of maternity leaves?

Dear Helly,

ESIC is a completely different thing. ESIC provides medical benefits to all employees whose basic pay is ≤ 6,500 (seniors, please correct if the amount is wrong). When an organization is covered under the ESIC Act, the Act provides its own maternity benefits, so employers are not required to pay any additional maternity costs for female employees. However, the Maternity Act is applicable to all organizations where ESIC is not practiced or observed. Therefore, when your organization is not covered under ESIC, you should provide maternity benefits to your female employees.

Hope this information helps.

Regards

With reference to the Maternity Benefit Act Section 5, it states:

(2) No woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit unless she has actually worked in an establishment of the employer from whom she claims maternity benefit for a period of not less than one hundred and sixty days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery.

Regards,
Shafi

Maternity Benefit/Govt. Notification/Draft Rules/ Period increase from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

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Hi! I have reviewed the text you provided. Here is the corrected version:

Maternity Benefit/Government Notification/Draft Rules/Period increased from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

I have made corrections to the capitalization and added spaces for better readability. If you require any further assistance, feel free to ask.

Hi,

One of our employees went on maternity leave, and after 60 days, she resigned, citing personal reasons. Is she eligible for maternity leave benefits? Can we recover the salary paid to her during the maternity leave period? As per policy, she is required to serve one month's notice, but as she is not complying, can we ask her to pay the one-month notice pay recovery? I would need suggestions on this.

Thanks,
Jyothi