Maternity If Found Misconduct

Respected seniors
A maternity related issue is in doubt, if an employee has misconduct during his service whether any during service period, on that an employer can cancelled the maternity benefit or not.

Dear Surjeet Singh,
Misconduct of employee and maternity leave are two separate issues. These cannot be clubbed together. Misconduct is handled under the provisions of Standing Order Act, 1946 and woman employee becomes eligible for maternity leave under the provisions of Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (or ESI Act).
Have you defined the type of misconduct? Can you share in this forum what happened? Punishment should be in proportion to the gravity of the misconduct.
Whatever may be the misconduct, you may impose some fine and penalty against the employee but you cannot have "forfeiture of maternity benefits" as the punishment. It is quite outrageous.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar
[B]

but , Why mentioned in the maternity act that an employer can forfeit maternity benefit 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 the least would appreciate if you could let us know where in MB Act it is written that the employer can forfeit the MB

Dear Suraj,

I would like to bring to your notice on under Section 12 of Maternity Benefit act. 1961.

12. 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.

2*[(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 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.]

Mr Surj
Pl read sec 18 of the MB Act.It is this section that deals with forfeiture of maternity benefit which is allowed only if the women works in any establishment during the period of absence sanctioned by the employer under sec 6 of the Act.Forfeiture is not permitted for miscondut.
Varghese