Maternity Leave Extended to 26 Weeks: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

Maternity Benefits Amendment Act 2017

The suspense is over now! Employers and women employees may download the Maternity Benefits Amendment Act 2017, duly assented by the President of India.

Now the suspense is over on the issue of entitlement of maternity benefit to women employees concerning the existing 12 weeks and the revised period of entitlement of 26 weeks as maternity leave. The provision must be implemented by every establishment. Furthermore, it is now mandatory for the employer to inform every woman employee at the time of her recruitment, as specified in the amended Act, as follows:

"Every establishment shall provide in writing and electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment information regarding every benefit available under the Act."

Notification on Maternity Leave Amendments

Now the long-awaited notification has come, and it's real and official that the amended provisions are split into two and will take effect on two different dates, viz:

The main provision regarding Maternity Leave:

1) w.e.f. 1.7.2017: Maternity Leave of 26 (twenty-six) weeks, of which not more than eight weeks (Section 5 Subsection (3) of the Maternity Act).

Subsection (3) (ii) "Provided that the maximum period entitled to maternity benefit by a woman having two or more than two surviving children shall be twelve weeks, of which not more than six weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery."

(iii) in the proviso... "Provided further that"

(iv) in the proviso... "Provided also that"

2) All other provisions of the amendment will be effective from 1.4.2017, i.e.:

Definition of Commissioning Mother:

Re: Section 3, (ba) "Commissioning Mother" means a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman...

After subsection (3) under Section (5), the following shall be inserted:

(4) A woman who legally adopts a child below the age of three months or a commissioning mother shall be entitled to maternity benefit for a period of twelve weeks from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother or the commissioning mother, as the case may be.

(5) In cases where the nature of work assigned to a woman is such that she may work from home, the employer may allow her to do so after availing of the maternity benefit for such period and on such conditions as the employer and the woman may mutually agree.

Creche Facility Requirement:

Inserted the following after section 11 of the Principal Act (Maternity Benefit Act):

11 A.(1) Every establishment having fifty or more employees shall have the facility of a creche within such distance as may be prescribed, either separately or along with common facilities;

Provided that the employer shall allow four visits a day to the creche by the woman, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to her.

(2) 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.

Hello there,

Do we have any clarity on this clause, please?

"Provided that the employer shall allow four visits a day to the creche by the woman, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to her."

Is there a cap on this that a mother can visit the baby until the baby is one year old, two years old, or any other specification related to this, please?

Hi Sameena Khan,

In the already existing Maternity Benefit Act, the nursing interval should be given to the employee until the baby attains 15 months of age.

Cheers!

Establishing a Creche for Employees

I think establishing a creche where 50 or more employees are employed and allowing four visits to the creche in a day (including intervals) is going to consume a significant amount of employers' time, not to mention the enhanced maternity leave henceforth. There can be more than one point to be clarified on this:

1) Where should the creche be set up, and if there is a specified distance to be prescribed, who is going to prescribe this?

2) If the creche is set up considerably distant from the workplace, how should the travel time be treated?

3) What could be the duration of the visit, and if an employee could take more time, how should that be managed?

Employers should address these issues since this facility for nursing mothers has become a legitimate right now. Perhaps they need to update their HR policy to avoid confrontations.

Hi,

I just wanted to inquire about the creche facility. Will it be provided only until the child is 15 months old, or does the 15-month rule apply only during nursing time?

Regards,
Shivani Razdan
AM- HR