Navigating Maternity Leave: How Should We Handle Extended Leave Requests and Legal Obligations?

braham
We have an employee who is not coming to work effective 01-Mar-11 as per details given hereunder:

1. Medical Exigencies (Special Leave – 13 days) and other Leave from 01-Mar-11 to 31-Mar-11.

2. She has requested a total of 9 months leave effective Apr’11 to Dec’11.

3. In between Maternity Leave from 08-Aug-11 to 28-Oct-11 (i.e., 12 weeks).

4. Other part of Leave:
a. From 01-Apr-11 to 07-Aug-11 (129 days).
b. From 29-Oct-11 to 31-Dec-11 (64 days).

She has submitted a doctor’s letter stating her expected date of delivery is 15-Sep-2011 and she has requested to be on leave from 01-Apr-11 to 31-Dec-11.

Clarifications Required

We require clarification on the following related to the above:

1. Whether the company is bound to give extraordinary leave while her leave balance is NIL.

2. Whether she should be advised to discontinue the job and re-join after the delivery of the baby.

3. Whether the in-between leave period, i.e., Apr’11 to 07-Aug-11 and from 29-Oct-11 to 31-Dec-11, should be allowed as Leave Without Pay.

4. What are the legal compliances to be followed to avoid any complications?

5. We have also provided Leave Without Pay (LWP) to female employees (ranging up to 3 months) on earlier occasions, which was post-delivery of the baby. In one case, the employee took the liberty to extend leave for 5 months, then she was absent from the job and asked to report back to duty, but she didn’t join. Later on, she resigned from the job.

Female on Contract Vs Maternity Benefits

1. A woman employee is hired on contract.

2. Contract duration is 1 year.

3. Employee is deployed at a client site.

4. Employee is working in developing/maintaining software applications.

5. Attendance is confirmed by the client on a monthly basis.

6. Contract value is paid on a monthly basis subject to submission of bill & attendance in that particular month.

7. She is the only resource deployed by us and working at that particular client site.

Query

1. Whether the woman employee would be eligible for Maternity Leave under the above arrangements?

2. In case the same employee is hired through a third party/agency, then whether, being the principal employer, we are supposed to pay for her maternity benefit to the agency?

Regards
fc.vadodara@nidrahotels.com
Nowhere in your query have you mentioned whether the employee is covered under the ESI Act or not. If the employee is covered under the ESI Act, then the entire Maternity Benefit will be taken care of by ESIC.

Secondly, you mentioned a query from 3 years back. I fail to understand why the query was not raised during that financial year but is being raised now.

Lastly, if the delivery was normal and no complications were reported by the doctors, the employee is entitled to leave as per the Maternity Benefit Act only. All other leaves are considered as Loss of Pay (LOP) or Leave Without Pay (LWP).
varghesemathew
As her EDD was 15.9.2011, she was eligible for maternity leave with wages for 12 weeks (6 weeks before and 6 weeks after delivery) provided she had worked with your firm for a period of 80 days before 15.9.2011 and submitted the required certificates. If she was under ESI, then ESIC would be paying the benefit. She was eligible for one month's leave with wages for having any illness arising out of pregnancy or delivery in addition to the above 12 weeks. Any leave beyond this is the Company's policy. For availing the leaves allowed under the MB Act, she cannot be asked to resign.

Contract employees are also eligible for Maternity benefits under the ESI Act or MB Act.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
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