Maternity Leave Dilemma: Are Employers Obligated for Leave Beyond the Second Child?

Dear seniors,

Greetings of the day to all of you.

One of our female employees has conceived her 3rd child, and she has submitted an application for prenatal maternity leave. Please guide me on whether the employer is always bound to provide maternity leave if she has conceived her 3rd, 4th, or 5th child.

Thanks & Regards,
Raman

Law is silent about the benefit to be given for more than two kids. Hence, it can be argued that the employee is entitled to the maternity benefits of 84 days as normal.

For your information, I would like to share this piece of information regarding new changes that are going to happen. https://biblehr.com/amendments-to-th...efit-act-1961/

Dear Member,

If you are submitting this query under The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, then the answer is yes.

With Regards,
R N KHOLA

Maternity Leave Under New Amendment Act

The new amendment act has been passed by the Lok Sabha and is pending in the Rajya Sabha. You are required to provide maternity leave under both the current and revised laws. Under the new law, for the first two children, you need to provide 26 weeks (6 months) of leave, and for any remaining children, you are required to give 12 weeks of leave.

Furthermore, the wording used is "where she has less than two children alive," which means that in the unfortunate event of a child's death, she will still be eligible for the full 6 months of maternity pay.

Rajya Sabha Passes New Amendment Act on Maternity Benefits

As per the information dated 10 Aug. 2016 by the Press Information Bureau, the following are the salient features of the amendment act that was earlier approved by the cabinet:

"The Maternity Benefit Act 1961 protects the employment of women during the time of their maternity and entitles them to a 'maternity benefit'—i.e., fully paid absence from work—to take care of their child. The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons. The amendments will help approximately 118 lakh women in the organized sector.

To make it clearer, the amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 are as follows:

- Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children.
- 12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother'.
- Facilitate 'Work from home'.
- Mandatory provision of a Crèche in establishments having 50 or more employees.

Justification:

- Maternal care to the child during early childhood is crucial for the growth and development of the child.
- The 44th, 45th, and 46th Indian Labour Conference recommended the enhancement of Maternity Benefits to 24 weeks.
- The Ministry of Women & Child Development proposed to enhance Maternity Benefit to 8 months.
- In Tripartite consultations, all stakeholders generally supported the amendment proposal.

Regards

Dear Mr. Dhingra,

So now, is it applicable to all companies, or do we need to wait for "President Approval" for the final incorporation of this law? Is there an expected date from when it will become mandatory law? Currently, the applicable law is for 3 months...