Paid Maternity Leave in Private Companies: Is It a Must for Employers?

I wanted to know what it says about private employers. Is it compulsory to give paid maternity leave to employees in private organizations too?

Yes, it is compulsory for private organizations to provide paid maternity leave. A woman employee must have a minimum of 80 working days to her credit in the last 12 months, counting from the start of maternity leave, to be eligible for maternity benefits in that organization. You can always use the search tab provided here as these topics have been discussed many times in this forum.

@ CiteHR maternity + http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/medi...ll,%202016.pdf

Thank you.

Yes, it is necessary to grant paid maternity leave to a female employee who has put in about 3 months of service. You have not mentioned how long this employee has been with you, so I presume she must have been working for more than 3 months. I remember we were disbursing one additional benefit by a lump sum amount of Rs 1000 (approx.), called a medical bonus, to the employee proceeding on maternity leave. We are supposed to maintain a register of employees proceeding on maternity leave in the prescribed format, as per the Maternity Benefit Act 1961. Section 12 of the act prohibits the employer from dismissing or terminating any employment if an employee is absent as per the provisions of this act. Similarly, the employer cannot make any changes to the service conditions during such time.

Thanks & Regards.

The establishments cannot deny provisions of the Maternity Act by creating their policies. The current provision is 12 weeks, which will soon increase to 26 weeks after the Bill Amendment is passed in the parliament. For any maternity leave applicant, it would mean that:

1. She would be entitled to leave in accordance with the revised provisions (26 weeks).
2. If such an amendment is enacted before the end of the maternity leave using the current provision.

Happy news!

I think that the caption (added by the citeHR?) of the query and the content of the query are altogether different. The confusion arising out of the different scales of maternity benefits given to the Central and State Govt. employees under their respective Leave Rules and to the Industrial employees under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 has given rise to this question.

Nothing more to be added to the answers of the above-mentioned learned friends in this regard.

Thank you all. Actually, my organization has refused to give me maternity benefits, citing the reason that my position is contractual. While this is true, I have been working in the same organization for three years now, completing two years of service. Therefore, I have raised this question. Additionally, I would like to know what steps I can take next to avail myself of this benefit.

Dear Archana,

I believe you are a teacher at a private educational institution located in the state of Maharashtra. Regardless of the nature or status of your employment, as you have already completed more than the minimum service period required by the MBF Act of 1961, you are entitled to all the benefits provided by the Act. For more information, please refer to the thread titled "Application of the Maternity Benefit Act - PDF Download".