Some staff not covered under ESI act - in this case do we need to provide 26 weeks maternity leave with full salary?

Dear Seniors,

I am Aathira, working as an HR in the Healthcare Industry from Kerala. I need some clarification about maternity leave. In my organization, some of the staff are not covered under ESI Act because their salary is above 21k. In this case, do we need to provide 26 weeks of maternity leave with full salary? What documents do we need to ask from that employee before they go on maternity leave? Please help me.

Hi,

The Maternity Benefit Act applies to all establishments employing 10 or more employees, including factories, mines, plantations, Government establishments, shops, and establishments under the relevant applicable legislations, or any other establishment as may be notified by the Central Government.

First, please ensure that your establishment is covered under the Maternity Benefit Act. If a particular female employee is not covered under the ESI and meets the eligibility criteria for maternity benefits (a woman must have been working as an employee in an establishment for a period of at least 80 days in the past 12 months), the employer is liable to sanction 26 weeks (182 days) of leave with salary.

The employee needs to submit a request letter for Maternity Benefit along with a confirmation certificate/laboratory report confirming her maternity status.

Once she reports back to the office after the maternity leave, please collect the delivery certificate for the personal file records.

Thank you.

Dear Aathira,

The healthcare industry in India comprises hospitals, medical insurance, etc. Therefore, it is better to be specific when mentioning the type of your establishment.

Thank you, Mr. Lakshminarayan, for the valuable reply to my post.

Hi, Mr. Umakanthan, I am working in a hospital in Kerala.

Dear Aathira,

I appreciate your immediate response with exact detail. Your hospital is an 'establishment' to which the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 is applicable as per sec. 2(1)(b) of the Act. Therefore, you should provide maternity benefits to those women employees not covered by the ESI Act of 1948 as stated by our learned friend V.M.L. This maternity leave of 26 weeks with salary can be availed of at a stretch from the date of delivery or in two spells of 8 weeks prior to the expected date of delivery and the remaining post-delivery according to the choice of the employee. The employee has to give notice of claim as detailed in sec. 6 of the Act.

Thank you so much for your valuable response, sir.

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I have corrected the spelling and grammar errors in your text. I have also added a comma after "response" for proper punctuation. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to ask.

Respected Seniors,

My name is Manju Sharma, and I am the Accounts & HR Manager at Lalji Sarraf Pvt. Ltd. I am the only woman in my company, and I am not covered by the ESI Act due to my salary level. I would like to inquire if I am entitled to maternity leave with full pay from my company. If so, kindly explain which rules govern this benefit in my company.

Thank you.

Dear friend,

There is no restriction on statutory maternity benefits for a female employee based on her salary or position of employment. Since you are not covered under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, you are automatically eligible for coverage under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. Consequently, you are entitled to receive all maternity benefits as per the provisions of Section 5 of the Act.

Dear Umakanthan Sir,

You are very correct in answering the question by Accounts-At-Laljisarraf-Com. The queriest said that she is not covered under ESI because of a salary beyond the limit of ESI. This means her company has more than 10 employees, and therefore, the MB Act is applicable to her company.

I just thought of mentioning it for the benefit of readers that the MB Act is applicable to every shop or establishment in which ten or more persons are employed and to every factory, mine, or plantation, to every establishment wherein persons are employed for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic, and other performances.