Maternity Leave Confusion: Are New Female Employees Eligible Right After Joining?

Hi,

My name is Sujeet, and I work at XXX Overseas Ltd. In my organization, when any woman goes on maternity leave, I need to understand if women employees are eligible for maternity leave after joining or if newly joined women employees are entitled to it. Is there a specific section that addresses this issue?

Hello Sujeet,

Please refer to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Section 5(2) "<Right to payment of maternity benefit>" which states, "No woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit unless she has actually worked in the establishment for a period of not less than 8 days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery."

Regards,
Nishant

Hello,

Attaching the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961. Kindly go through the document to gain insight into Maternity Benefits. I downloaded it from Simpliance - Labour Law Compliance, a free online labor law library. Check the website for more details.

Thanks

Eligibility & Conditions for Claiming Benefits

The Act states that any woman employed, whether directly or through any agency, for wages in any establishment is eligible to claim maternity benefits if she is expecting a child and has worked for her employer for at least 80 days in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery. (Section 5)

A woman anticipating maternity benefits could request the employer to assign her light work for a month. Such a request should be made at least 10 weeks before the date of her expected delivery. At that time, she needs to provide a certificate confirming her pregnancy. (Section 5)

Additionally, she must provide written notice to the employer about 7 weeks before the date of her delivery regarding her absence period pre and post-delivery. (Section 5)

Regards,
Amit