Maternity Benefit Act Update: Should Companies Cover Creche Costs or Just Facilitate?

Dear Friends, The Central Government has notified 1-April-2017 as the effective date for the amendments passed via The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017. Benefits such as 26 weeks of leave, crèche, etc., are applicable effective the notified date.

Creche Facility Expectations

My question is about the crèche facility. What is the expectation from the company? Is the company expected to pay for the monthly expenses of the child in the crèche, or are we just to have a tie-up with daycare and let employees deal with them directly for the expenses/monthly charges, etc.?

Regards, HR.

Dear All,

Can you provide me with the latest official notification on maternity benefits (about 26 weeks)?

The Act is effective July 1, 2017 and the Crèche facilty Tieup needs to be with a credible and well thought vendor ! Costs can even be shared by both employee And employee at 50:50 ratios

Maternity Benefit Amendment 2017: Key Updates

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has released FAQs and clarifications regarding the Maternity Benefit Amendment 2017. The provisions for creche facilities will come into effect on 1st July 2017, while the rest of the Act will be effective from 1st April 2017. Enhanced maternity leave of 26 weeks can be availed by women who were already on maternity leave at the time of the enforcement of the Amendment Act. Women who have already availed 12 weeks of maternity leave before the enforcement of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, i.e., 1st April 2017, shall not be entitled to the extended maternity benefit of 26 weeks leave.

Visit www.simpliance.in to download recent amendments and notifications.

Guys, is there an age limit defined for the child? I read in the above chain that charges can be split 50:50 between the company and employee. Is this defined in the bill passed?

Hi, I think another addition to this amendment is that the crèche facility has to be set up within 500 meters. With all this, a company may have to set up the crèche in the same premise. However, setting up a crèche may not be feasible for all the companies. Is there any company who has initiated to work on the implementation of provision of crèche facility. Please share the thoughts

As per the Act, there are many loopholes in the Creche Facility. There is no age prescribed for a child (normally, the age is considered to be up to 6 years for a creche). Secondly, on cost sharing, there are no clarifications, so it depends on the company for cost sharing. The MB Act has no specific requirements around construction, facilities, and staff of the creche, etc. In such a scenario, it's important to take guidance from the National ECCE policy and state laws.

Beyond this, if you have any other information, please share.

Regards