Is It Mandatory to Inform Employees About Maternity Benefit Act Changes? Let's Discuss

Questions on Legal Obligations

Questions have been raised on whether it is legally mandatory for the employer to communicate the recent amendments made in the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 to all employees (either written or electronically) once it takes effect.

Communication of Amendments

What is inserted in the amendment is that every establishment shall intimate in writing and electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment regarding every benefit available under the Act. So, what about existing employees? There are a few organizations that do not want to explicitly communicate the changes to existing employees, though they are absolutely okay with providing all the benefits once the employee initiates maternity leave.

What do you mean by explicitly communicating the changes? It is the duty of the employer to inform all women employees about the amendment. If you do not communicate on your own, it sends a wrong signal. Please be transparent in legal matters.

I agree. But, this is not my opinion, but a question raised to me, and I wanted to be clear on legal terms. The query raised was that an employer was of the opinion that they should not communicate that maternity laws have changed to 26 weeks to existing employees. But, I disagreed and told them exactly what you said. But then I was questioned, "Is it mentioned anywhere in the law that we HAVE to communicate?" Hence, the requirement for me to raise the question.

You put a notice explaining the new amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act. Do it after the amendment comes into effect. Mention the same in the future appointment orders also.

Everything cannot be mentioned in law. Employers have to be proactive and communicate accordingly. Employees do not have complete knowledge about various laws/benefits they are entitled to. Consequently, a lot of money is spent by state and central governments to inform everyone about various benefits and amendments for employees.

There are certain unwritten laws, also known as business ethics. Therefore, communicating welfare schemes for employees becomes an ethical duty on the employer's part.

The amendment states that women employees shall be informed about the benefits under the Act at the time of appointment. This applies to new employees, not to existing employees.