Understanding Maternity Benefits: How Much Will She Receive and What Does "No Wages" Mean?

Dear all,

My establishment comes under the Andhra Pradesh Shops and Establishment Act 1988 and specifies the following sections regarding maternity benefits:

Maternity leave

The periods of absence from duty for which a woman employee is entitled to maternity benefits under Section 25 shall be treated as authorized absence from duty. The woman employee shall be entitled to maternity benefits but not to any wages for any of those periods.

Maternity benefit

Every woman who has been employed for a period of not less than six months preceding the date of her delivery in continuous employment of the same employer, whether in the same or different shops or commercial establishments, shall be entitled to receive from her employer for the period of:

(a) six weeks immediately preceding the day of delivery; and
(b) six weeks following the day of delivery; such maternity benefit and in such a manner as may be prescribed:

Provided that no woman employee shall be entitled to receive such benefits for any day during any of the aforementioned periods on which she attends work and receives wages thereof.

Now, my doubt is as follows: A woman's salary is $8000 monthly. Here are my questions:
1. How much will she receive as maternity benefits? (Please provide the calculation.)
2. What is the difference in the statement "the woman employee shall be entitled to maternity benefits, but not to any wages for any of those periods"?

Application of the AP Shops and Establishment Act

The AP Shops and Establishment Act is applicable to establishments in which even one employee is working. In an organization where only one employee is working, it is not possible to insist on granting leaves with wages due to pregnancy or childbirth other than casual leave or earned leaves as applicable. If your establishment has fewer than ten employees, you need not give 26 weeks of maternity leave to any of your female employees. But once the Maternity Benefit Act becomes applicable to you, you will be under an obligation to provide 26 weeks of leave with salary and a medical bonus as per the Maternity Benefits Act.

Coverage under the Maternity Benefit Act

In case you employ 10 or more employees (men and women combined), your establishment will come under the coverage of the Maternity Benefit Act. Regarding employees covered by the ESI Act, the liability of payment of 26 weeks of salary will be taken care of by the ESI Corporation. If your company is not covered by the ESI Act or if the employee is not under the ESI scheme (which is unlikely because an employee whose salary is Rs 8000 should be under ESI), then you will have to pay Rs 8000 every month, as if she is working, for 26 weeks. Moreover, the other provisions regarding restrictions on employment in hazardous activities while she is pregnant and granting of additional rest periods after she resumes work in order to feed her child should also be followed.

Salary Calculation During Maternity Leave

There is no further calculation of salary. What she was receiving immediately before proceeding on maternity leave should be paid to her. The Shops and Establishment Act states that maternity leave days should not be treated as a break in service but as approved leaves even though they are unpaid.

Ok sir, thank you for your valuable response. I have another doubt. When can we pay this maternity benefit to her? Is it before the delivery or after the delivery?

Out of 26 weeks of leave, 12 weeks of leave shall precede the date of delivery. If she takes 12 weeks of leave before childbirth/delivery, salary for that period should be paid before delivery, on a monthly basis, with the remaining period to be taken post-delivery.