Is 85 Days Enough for Maternity Leave Eligibility Under the Maternity Benefit Act?

Dear Sir/Madam,

One employee has completed 85 days of employment in three months. Under the Maternity Benefit Act, is she eligible for maternity leave? The Act specifies a requirement of not less than eighty days in the twelve months.

What is the eligibility period for Maternity Benefit, either 80 days or 12 months?

Regards,

The employee in question is eligible for claiming maternity benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. It appears that when she joined your employment, she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. It is also presumed that she is not covered under ESI.

As per the Maternity Benefit (MB) Act, women must actually work for 80 days in the 12 months immediately preceding her date of delivery. Thus, in the above case, the lady is entitled to the benefits under the amendment of the MB Act 2017.

If a newly joined female employee covered under ESI has remitted 123 days of contributions but has not remitted the contributions for 9 months, she may not be eligible to receive benefits under ESIC. In such a case, is she still eligible to receive maternity benefits from the employer under the Payment of Maternity Act? Please confirm.

Yes, the woman employee should receive benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, as she did not receive maternity benefits under the ESI Act, even though she is covered under ESI.

I joined an organization on February 18, 2022, and started contributing to ESI from April 1st. On February 27th, I confirmed that I am one month pregnant. As per ESI and HR policies, I am not eligible for paid maternity leave. Please suggest. My delivery date is on October 31st, and I plan to work until October 20th. Am I eligible for paid maternity leave?