Recent amendment under the Maternity Benefit Act – a leap or loop
The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, on which the President's assent (27th March 2017) was recently given, has come up with a new bright face and dressed up to adapt according to the recent development and to the climatic change in the evolution of Indian industries with regard to key amended provisions.
a) The introduction of 'Commissioning Mother' and 'Adopting Mother' has given wider coverage for insured women.
b) Maternity leave increased from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, which is not available to women who have already two surviving children; they are restricted to 12 weeks only.
c) Work from home for women employees may be given on mutual agreement by the employer if the nature of work is such.
Enhanced Maternity Leave effective from 1st April, 2017
Various circumstances and applicability of the amendment are as follows:
· The enhanced number of maternity leave as per the recent amendment would be applicable for women who apply for benefits on or from April 1st, 2017 only, and not earlier.
· If previously claimed maternity leave gets completed on March 31st, then the leave need not be extended as per the new amendment.
· If a woman already started enjoying her maternity leave and continues even beyond April 1st, 2017, then it should be understood that she is covered under the old provision, which gives 12 weeks of maternity leave only.
These are the only possible scenarios, but answers given were nowhere stated in the Act/Rule for the above circumstances. In such cases, we may have to go with what the enforcement authority of the respective region directs the employer to do. So, obviously, this may be differently handled by different authorities unless otherwise a Circular or Notification is released to resolve this issue (as issued under the ESI Act).
Crèche Facility
For the applicability of Crèche provisions, the total number of employees has to be 50 or more. But the definition for 'employee' is not given under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and so, in a strict legal sense, this can be considered as a whole and not a gender-specific one.
· If the total number of employees is less than 50, then a Crèche need not be set up.
· Even if there is no woman employee in the total number of employees, these provisions for arranging/setting up of Crèche would be applicable. Also, if there are one or more women employees engaged in an establishment, then a Crèche may be set up individually or with a common facility as the case may be.
· A Crèche can be set up in a nearby easily accessible safe place with health and hygienic facilities. For other related points, the employer may go with what authorities suggest as there are no related Rules or Circulars issued in this regard.
· The age of the child is not prescribed in the Act for which the setting up of a Crèche is introduced. However, it is 6 as per the Factories Act, and that may be taken as a guideline until any Notification or Rules may be prescribed by the Appropriate Government.
· There is no restriction or ratio given as to how many children can be brought under the care of the Crèche facility, and so, the employer may have to maintain all of them if the age can be less than 6 suggestively.
· For other points which are not stated in the Act, as of now, we may have to go by what the Authorities say until a relevant Circular or Notification may or may not be published.
Prescribed Distance for Crèche
Regarding the distance of the Crèche as per the Bill passed in Rajya Sabha in the month of August 2016 as follows:
“MEMORANDUM REGARDING DELEGATED LEGISLATION
1. Clause 4 of the Bill empowers the Central Government to make rules for the purpose of prescribing the distance for the facility of the Crèche in respect of every establishment having fifty or more employees.
2. The matters in respect of which rules may be made under the proposed legislation are matters of administrative details. The delegation of legislative power is, therefore, of a normal character.”
As per the above Memorandum, no Notification was yet released from the Central Government mentioning the distance; we have to assess it with 'reasonableness'. So, it should be at a reasonable distance. 'What is reasonable' would go with the context. It should be easily commutable for the employees between the establishment and the Crèche.
Women engaged through Contractors
· As per the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Section 3(o) “woman” means a woman employed, whether directly or through any agency, for wages in any establishment.
· So, a woman worker employed through a Contractor is also included as a beneficiary under this Act. So, the Principal Employer has to ensure the Crèche facility for them too.
For the Awareness of Women Employees
Awareness of the benefits under the amendments has to be given to all women employees. This must be done through written material and through digital and other electronic media like emails as well.
Work from Home
Though there is a clerical error in the recent Notification when referring to the previous Section numbers in the amended Act, the content is obvious that the effective date of commencement of all the amended provisions is on 1st of April, 2017, except for the provisions relating to Work from Home, which is effective from 1st of July, 2017.