Maternity Leave Pay: Does ESIC or the Employer Cover It? Let's Discuss!

If an employee is covered under ESIC, who will pay the maternity benefit? Will the ESIC board cover the salary during maternity leave, or will the employer have to pay?

Maternity Benefits under ESI

If the employee has contributed to ESI for a minimum of 70 days in the two consecutive contribution periods, then the ESI Corporation will pay the maternity benefits for that employee. The employer only needs to mark the leave days as ESI leave, and no payment has to be processed for those days by the employer.