Confused About Maternity Leave Duration? Seeking Legal References to Respond to HR

The HR team of my company says that I can get only 60 working days of maternity leave, of which not more than 30 working days shall precede the date of expected delivery. However, I had heard that I should be allowed to take 26 weeks of maternity leave. Please educate me on the exact legal provision and the source that I can use as a reference while replying to my company's HR team.

If your company engages 10 or more employees, then the act is applicable to it.

The Maternity Benefit Act is normative legislation. The statutory norms include 26 weeks of maternity leave. An employer can provide more than 26 weeks of maternity leave, but they legally cannot restrict maternity leave below 26 weeks.

Hi,

26 weeks of maternity benefit (MB) was passed as legislation by the parliament in August 2016 as an amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961.

Regards,
Anil Raina

Dear Anamika from Mysore,

Please post the mail received from your HR Team. Later on, we can prepare an appropriate reply.