The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 Effective Date Released

Dear All,

The Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, has made changes to the Maternity Benefit Act under various sub-sections and provisions. Effective 1st April 2017, the following mentioned changes shall come into force:

(i) The maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity leave shall be twenty-six weeks, of which not more than eight weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery.
(ii) 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) 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.
(iv) All establishments shall intimate in writing and electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment regarding every benefit available under the Act.
(v) 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.
(vi) Effective 1st July 2017, after availing maternity benefit, the work from home facility may also be availed as per the agreement between the employer and the woman employee.

Warm Regards,

Praveen Devadiga

Who would be eligible for the increased maternity leave: Will women who are currently in the middle of their 12-week maternity leave under the unamended law be entitled to extend their leave to 26 weeks?

Dear Praveen Devadiga ji,

There is a revised notification of corrigendum dated April 3, 2017. According to it, the said Section 3 sub-section (5) is changed to / read as Section 4 sub-section (1).

It seems in this corrigendum also, there is a mistake in quoting Section as 4 sub-section (1). This section has no relevance here.

I feel it should be related to creche facility provision that will be effective from 1st July 2017. There is no clarity from the Government on it till date. Attached herewith is the said notification of corrigendum dated April 3, 2017.

Hi all,

Just one quick query on the Maternity Benefit Extension: what if the company (startups to be taken into consideration) is not able to follow this rule? This could result in a significant loss for such startups, as they would need to pay a substantial amount in salaries to these women.

As per the Insertion of New Section 11A is it mandatory to have the crèche facility either an establishment having no or below 30 women employee.

Dear All,
Please find attached a circular dated 12.04.2017 by Ministry of L & E, GOI giving clarifications on certain queries on Maternity Benefit Amendments 2017, which are self explanatory.
However, this circular does not give answer to queries by RASHMI SINGH 15 and MAHIPAL.PANWAR. My views on the said queries by are as under:
As regards to query by RASHMI SINGH 15: This Act does not distinguished between Startup and non-Startup.
As regards to query by MAHIPAL.PANWAR: There is no ambiguity in new section 11A. Please read once again the new section given verbatim below:
‘‘11A. (1) Every establishment having fifty or more employees shall have the facility of créche within such distance as may be prescribed, either separately or along with common facilities".

Dear friends,
The below given queries remained un-answered:
1. Whether the crèche facility is to be provided at free of cost. (since most of the organisations operate in densely populated urban areas, the cost of extending such facilities can be significant);
2. Distance of the crèche from the establishment.
Of course, the implementation date for creche facility is July 1, 2017. Still there is a time. The Government may come out with clarification and /or rules in this regards.

Dear Team,

Is there any eligibility to avail Maternity Benefit? Can an employee avail Maternity Benefit from her date of appointment?

Kindly clarify.

Dear Shaikh Abedeen ji,

The condition for claiming Maternity Benefit under the Maternity Benefit Act is that the female employee must have worked for 80 days in the 12 months immediately preceding her date of delivery. Please refer to section 5(2) of the Maternity Benefit Act.

Thank you.

My friend's company is saying there is no GO passed by the government. They say they are waiting for the final GO. So from when can one claim 26 weeks of maternity leave?

Thank you.

Another issue I am facing currently is regarding my maternity leave. My maternity leave is scheduled to end on 25th April 2017, in accordance with the 12-week maternity leave policy. However, the new maternity leave policy states that individuals on maternity leave as of 1st April 2017 are eligible for an extended leave benefit of 26 weeks. I have already discussed this with the HR department and shared the circular issued by the labor ministry on this matter. Unfortunately, HR has informed me that the extended leave policy only applies to those on leave after 1st April 2017. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to proceed in this situation. Thank you.

Dear KirtiBeAware,

Please refer to the attachment (The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 - Clarifications) shared by Mr. Korgaonkar Ji in the previous comment. The clarification point number 2 gives you the answer.

Thank you, Sir. But the employers are giving these reasons, waiting for a Government order, etc. What can a female employee do in such a case?

Hi Kirti,

All the attachments shared here are considered as Gazette Notification/ Circulars issued by the government of India and are applicable to all organizations. For claiming maternity benefits, employees have to serve notice under Section 6 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, in the format as prescribed in the State Rules, along with the certificate of the doctor regarding pregnancy to their employer before going on leave. If the employer refuses to provide the extended leave for which they are eligible during maternity, they can directly approach the nearby Labor Inspector/Commissioner with all the eligibility documents, or they can inform the company HR that they are approaching the Labor Inspector/Commissioner for further help - this may help them to get the benefits as imposed in the notifications.

Crèche facility: Every establishment with more than 50 employees to provide for crèche facilities for working mothers and such mothers will be permitted to make four visits during working hours to look after and feed the child in the crèche, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to her.
50 Employees means only female or male plus female?