Maternity Benefit : Applicability to a Pvt. Company's branch office having Less Than 10 Employees.

Hello everyone,
My friend's wife has been working in a Pvt ltd company (registered in Mumbai but has branch office in Karnataka) which has less than 10 employees. She has been working there for over 4 years as regular employee. The branch office comes under shop and establishment act. Though the overall staff of the company on Pan India basis is more than 200 employees.
Is she entitled to maternity benefit? The employment contract does not provide the maternity benefit and there is no employment handbook. I would be very thankful for your advise on the entitlement.

She is entitled for maternity benefits as the company as a whole has more than 10 employees.

Dear Nathrao,
First of all thanks for your kind revert. But would request you if you can elaborate or share some guidelines/case laws supporting the above reasoning.
Regards.

One will have to go by sheer logic.
Your company has more than 10 employees all over India and hence attracts the provisions of MB Act( or benefits under ESIC).
Just because one branch does not have 10 employees, will not disentitle the employee benefits of Maternity.
Pl wait for comments from other learned members also.

Section 2 in The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
2. Application of Act.— 4 [
(1) It applies, in the first instance,—
(a) to every establishment being a factory, mine or plantation including any such establishment belonging to Government and to every establishment wherein persons are employed for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic and other performances;
(b) to every shop or establishment within the meaning of any law for the time being in force in relation to shops and establishments in a State, in which ten or more persons are employed, or were employed, on any day of the preceding twelve months:] Provided that the State Government may, with the approval of the Central Government, after giving not less than two month’s notice of its intention of so doing, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall apply also to any other establishment or class of establishments, industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise.
(2) 5 [Save as otherwise provided in 6 [sections 5A and 5B] nothing contained in this Act] shall apply to any factory or other establishment to which the provisions of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (34 of 1948), apply for the time being.
Section 2 (1)(b) of the MB Act clearly states the applicability restricted to establishment where ten or more persons are employed.

Dear Allmail1983,
The company has branches in other parts of the country and more than 200 employees Pan India.
Number of employees in some branch may be less than 10 employees, but does that put the company out of coverage of MB Act.
To my mind,the company is bound to pay Maternity Benefits to eligible employees.

If the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is applivable to the Company Located in Mumbai, the same will be applicable to all other branches located in India.Admitting that Branch located in Karnataka is registered under S&E A, having less than 10 Employees does not mean that Woman Employee is not eligible for MB.Branch is not a separate entity.Branch is part of main Company.EPF,ESI.IT,Maternity Benefit Act etc are all Central Legislations.
What do you mean by " The employment contract does not provide the maternity benefit"
Without worrying much submit your claim to the Management.Strength of Company as a whole should be taken in to consideration, not of just 1 Branch.