Dear Sandy,
You have mentioned that you joined the company in September 2008 and you are intending to leave the company once your maturity leave is over.I presume that you are leaving company by the end of January.I can guess the the query has arisen in your mind as to whether the maternity period, you have availed, is qualified for calculation of 5 years.In this connection, you are requested to refer to Section 2A of the Act, which deals with the definition of 'Continuous service'. It is clearly given in the Sub-section 2(iv) that total period of maternity leave not exceeding TWELVE WEEKS shall be counted for the purpose of calculation of continuous service of 5 years for eligibility of gratuity.In your case,you are availing maternity leave from May 2013 to January 2014,the whole period of which may not be counted for the purpose of gratuity payment. Though apparently it looks that you have completed more than five years and may be because of the same reasons most of my colleagues have given a positive nod for the payment of gratuity, but I have a doubt, as yours is a marginal case.I, therefore, advise you to be cautious and work out the the whole things before putting up the papers.
BS Kalsi
Member since Aug 2011