Facing No Maternity Leave After 2.5 Years at My Job: What Should I Do Next?

I have been working in my company for the past two and a half years, and now my Expected Delivery Date (EDD) is approaching. I sent a maternity leave application via email to my HR department a week ago, but I have not received any response yet. Unfortunately, my company does not offer maternity leave.

Please advise me on the appropriate actions I can take in this situation.

Thank you.

Regards

Maternity Benefits Under ESI Scheme

If you are covered under the ESI Scheme, you will receive maternity benefits from ESI. If not, the employer has to provide 12 weeks of maternity leave with full pay.

For this, you need to repeatedly request management and take maternity leave.

Regards,
D. Gurumurthy

Apart from what Gurumurthy has advised, you can send an application to avail of the Maternity Benefits to the HR, get the same acknowledged, and proceed for the 6 weeks leave. If the employer refuses to give the Maternity Benefits, you can approach the competent authority for such denial.

[QUOTE=kanu123456;2134418]
Dear Gurumurthy,

We are not covered under the ESI Scheme. Please let me know whom I should approach?

Maternity Benefits for Non-ESI Covered Employees

If you are not covered under ESI, the company is liable to pay the maternity benefit of the full salary along with 6 weeks of leave. You need to submit a leave application along with the doctor's prescription of the Date of Delivery (DOD) to the HR department. You can go on leave for 6 weeks (3 weeks before DOD and 3 weeks after delivery) as you wish.

As per the Act, the company has to pay some amount of maternity benefit before going on leave. However, some companies pay after the employee rejoins after the maternity leave. Every company must provide maternity benefits along with leave for women employees who are not covered under the ESI Act. Check the Act for details on how to claim from them. All the best.

Regards.

As mentioned earlier, you should first send your application to HR and get it acknowledged. Thereafter, proceed with your leave. Once you return and if the HR department refuses to provide the maternity benefit, we will advise further steps. However, it is too early to take action; this is my view.

Frankly speaking, as soon as you knew that you were pregnant, you should have informed the HR Department as well as your boss with a doctor's certificate on the EDD. If that was done, you would have had enough time to check the available options. Nevertheless, every company has to provide maternity leave as per the maternity act. Please personally speak to your HR Department and check the company HR Manual and leave benefits.

Regards,
Dolphy

First of all, I wish you a very happy motherhood. Enjoy the feeling and leave the rest to Acts & provisions.

As rightly suggested, you should approach your HR Department personally along with an application informing them about the EDD duly confirmed by the treating doctor. If they do not grant your maternity leave and give whimsical reasons, just get the application received in the Central Dak Receipt section and obtain a token thereof to prove your claim to have submitted the application with the department. Please mention the actual date of your commencement of leave and date of return from leave after the expiry of 12 weeks. If you so like, you can send a copy of it to higher authorities as per the organization profile in your establishment. BUT PLEASE OBTAIN AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF IT.

Proceed on leave without any second thought. Though there is a provision of payment of 6 weeks' salary/wages in advance, practically management pays maternity leave salary/wages as per their payment cycle. If the management is fair, they will pay leave salary/wages along with others in a routine manner. If they fail, they will have to pay in totality after you resume duty. Please refer to Sec. 6 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, to get a clear guideline. Just ensure that you are not employed or engaged in some activity which generates some income during the maternity leave period. Because if the management has sufficient proof to prove this, you will not be entitled to benefit under the Act.

In case of withholding of payment for invalid reasons (other than those provided in the Act), you can make a claim before the Inspector appointed under the Act. Please refer to Sec. 17 of the Act.

Hope the position, rights, and obligations have been made clear.

Regards,
AK Jain

Denial of Maternity Benefit

Denial of Maternity Benefit (including leave for 90 days or 12 weeks or 3 calendar months) is negligent of Article 14, 15, 38, 39, and 42, and the Maternity Benefit Act 1961.

When under Section 6, an application made by women for maternity benefit, if denied, is unlawful.

So, once again, post a registered mail attaching an acknowledgment card to the HR, stating your status through the earlier application and to grant maternity benefit. Failing the same shall be obtained through approaching the Labor Commission.

Supreme Court judgments clearly condemn the denial of maternity benefit.

I thought you are supposed to get 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after the delivery, not 6 weeks in total...

[QUOTE=Sirisha Rani;2134448]

Thank you for all of your advice. I have already submitted my application and reminders to the HR Department, but they have not responded, and I know they won't. In our company, to date, nobody has been granted maternity leave. 