Maternity Benefits and Employee Misconduct: Can Employers Cancel Benefits?

Respected seniors, a maternity-related issue is in doubt. If an employee has misconduct during their service period, can the employer cancel the maternity benefit or not?

Misconduct and Maternity Leave: Separate Issues

Misconduct of an employee and maternity leave are two separate issues and cannot be clubbed together. Misconduct is handled under the provisions of the Standing Orders Act, 1946, while a woman employee becomes eligible for maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (or ESI Act).

Defining Misconduct

Have you defined the type of misconduct? Could you share in this forum what happened? The punishment should be proportional to the gravity of the misconduct.

Regardless of the misconduct, you may impose fines and penalties against the employee, but "forfeiture of maternity benefits" cannot be considered an appropriate punishment. This would be quite outrageous.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Maternity Act and Misconduct

Why is it mentioned in the Maternity Act that an employer can forfeit maternity benefits on the basis of misconduct?

First of all, let the forum know the gravity/severity of the misconduct. Secondly, as Mr. Dinesh aptly said, "Whatever may be the misconduct, you may impose some fine and penalty against the employee, but you cannot have 'forfeiture of maternity benefits' as punishment."

Last but not least, I would appreciate it if you could let us know where in the Maternity Benefit Act it is written that the employer can forfeit the maternity benefits.

I would like to bring to your notice under Section 12 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

Dismissal During Absence of Pregnancy

(1) When a woman absents herself from work in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it shall be unlawful for her employer to discharge or dismiss her during or on account of such absence or to give notice of discharge or dismissal on such a day that the notice will expire during such absence, or to vary to her disadvantage any of the conditions of her service.

(2) (a) The discharge or dismissal of a woman at any time during her pregnancy, if the woman but for such discharge or dismissal would have been entitled to maternity benefit or medical bonus referred to in Section 8, shall not have the effect of depriving her of the maternity benefit or medical bonus: Provided that where the dismissal is for any prescribed gross misconduct, the employer may, by order in writing communicated to the woman, deprive her of the maternity benefit or medical bonus or both.

(b) Any woman deprived of maternity benefit or medical bonus, or both, or discharged or dismissed during or on account of her absence from work in accordance with the provisions of this Act, may, within sixty days from the date on which the order of such deprivation or discharge or dismissal is communicated to her, appeal to such authority as may be prescribed, and the decision of that authority on such appeal, whether the woman should or should not be deprived of maternity benefit or medical bonus, or both, or discharged or dismissed shall be final.

Regards

Please read Section 18 of the Maternity Benefit Act. It is this section that deals with the forfeiture of maternity benefits, which is allowed only if the woman works in any establishment during the period of absence sanctioned by the employer under Section 6 of the Act. Forfeiture is not permitted for misconduct.

Regards,
Varghese