Am I Eligible for 26 Weeks of Paid Maternity Leave as an IT Consultant?

Kindly help me to know about the act of paid maternity leave for professional consultants. I am working as a consultant in an IT company that works on Bihar government projects. My company doesn't provide PF or ESIC; they only deduct 10% for TDS. I am not an employee of my company; I work as a consultant on a contract basis. Kindly suggest if I am eligible for 26 weeks of maternity leave or not. I have read the 1961 and 2017 labor department acts, but I am still confused. Please help me.

At times, the modern nomenclature of designations of hired persons leads to some sort of confusion as to whether the contract between the hirer and the hired is that of a "contract of service" or "contract for service." The designation "consultant" is one such, I think. Normally, a consultant is one who offers expert advice to another whenever demanded, for the monetary consideration called "retainer fee" or "consultancy charges," on a time basis or assignment basis respectively, as the case may be. There is no employer-employee relationship between the parties. Nowadays, certain specialized posts filled with regular employees on the company's payroll are also termed as "consultants." Therefore, first decide for yourself where you fit in.

If you are only a consultant on a retainer basis, the employer is not bound to pay anything other than the retainer fee already agreed upon. On the contrary, if you are a regular paid employee on the company's payroll, you are entitled to all the statutory benefits, including maternity benefits, as and when the occasion arises.

Two combos of words set:

1) Pay for work - In this scenario, the employee is regular, required to attend all days, has fixed duty hours, and is eligible for all workmen benefits, including overtime.

2) Pay to work - In this case, the employee is not regular, required to attend on any stipulated date, and can work for hours as they wish, but must complete the job domain at their ease. Consultants, lawyers, and CAs are not regular employees of the establishment. They may work throughout the year but only for finalizing tasks like work completion or filing returns, which are not done on a daily basis. It could be a full-day job for a whole month or just a few hours in a month. They are not enrolled in the payroll or attendance register.

In short, the consultant is treated similarly to other workers like plumbers, electricians, or those involved in miscellaneous tasks required by the industry at regular intervals. To claim maternity benefits, the employee must have been a regular employee for a certain period in the past. ESIC/EPF may not be deducted if the gross payout is over 21,000 per month, but attendance still matters.

Usually, in such instances, employers request invoices or bills from consultants, on which TDS is deducted under section 194C of the IT Act. Calculate your position in the establishment, then proceed with the claim.

Dear Sir,
Thank You for your valuable information. Kindly inform me by your valuable suggessions about maternity act 1961 which says “woman” means a woman employed, whether directly or through any
agency, for wages in any establishment. and maternity act 2007 which says consultants or contractual employees are eligible for paid maternity leave.also solve my query if my HR says that i am only a consultant not an employee then should i eligible for work from home?