How the 2017 Maternity Benefit Act Changes Impact Working Mothers and Employers

Latest Update on Labour Laws - The Maternity Benefit Act: Amendment Gazette Notification, Dated 28th March 2017

The provisions are effective from 28th March 2017.

Highlights are as under:

1) Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children.
2) 12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother'.
3) Facilitate 'Work from home'.
4) Mandatory provision of a creche in respect of establishments having 50 or more employees.
5) Every establishment shall intimate in writing and electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment about the benefits available under the Act.

Kindly acknowledge the same and oblige. For getting a copy of the notification, type your mail ID in the comment box.

The Gazette Notification has already been uploaded by a few members. The amended Act will be implemented only after the notification is issued again by the government mentioning the effective date.

Regards,

N. Nataraajhan
Sakthi Management Services
Hp: +91 94935 17402

Date of Applicability of The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 will be notified by the Central Government in the Gazette.

Dear All,

Please let me know the effective date of this act. Is it from 01 Apr or from 28 Mar?

Dear Team,

Kindly share the notification of Maternity Benefit.

Regards,
Rajesh

Dear RKCC, for the present, you can only read and write the MB Amendment Act notified in the gazette, but you need not implement it right away. Since the government has withheld the effective date from which these amended provisions should be implemented (for reasons best known to them).

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017

NO. 6 OF 2017
[27th March, 2017.]
An Act further to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:

1. (1) This Act may be called the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:
Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

2. In the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (hereinafter...

Implementation of the Maternity Benefit Act Amendments

Now the effective dates are also notified. Establishments to which the MB Act is applicable can proceed with implementation as prescribed in the notifications attached for your guidance. Regarding any queries on this, we will have to await clarifications from the government side as these provisions are implemented from 1.4.17 and 1.7.17, as the case may be. Obviously, employers are under more pressure now to adhere to the amended provisions, and expecting employee mothers can program it accordingly. All the best.

Please refer to the attached legal analysis of the amendment.

Thanks