Maternity Leave

Dear Client,
The Maternity Benefit Act 1961 states that a woman employee can apply for Maternity leave regardless of her nature or category of employment, i.e, probation, intern, casual, contractual, or permanent if she has worked with the employer for 80 days in the last 12 months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery. It's illegal for employers to discriminate against a woman employee based on her employment status or pregnancy status. An employer cannot discriminate against a woman employee based on her pregnancy status during her pregnancy or post-pregnancy, affecting her maternity rights. The duration of maternity leave for both first and second-time mothers is 6 months or 26 weeks. After the amendment of Section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act in 2017, a woman employee having two or more surviving children is entitled to maternity benefit for a maximum period of twelve weeks, out of which not more than six weeks preceding the date of her expected delivery. The Act does not prohibit maternity leave for women with more than two children; it only limits the duration based on the number of children they have. In the K. Umadevi v. Government of Tamil Nadu Case, 2022, the Hon'ble Supreme Court granted maternity benefits to a woman for her third child under the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, ruling that it constitutes a constitutional right. The top Court of the country affirmed that the right to health, dignity, privacy, and non-discrimination are integral to the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution. So, if a woman starts working and her first pregnancy is her third child, she is still entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act. Employers who unlawfully deny maternity benefits to women employees may face severe penalties under Sections 21 and 22 of the Act, including fines up to Rs 5000 and imprisonment up to 5 years or both, once and aggrieved employee bring the matter to the notice of the competent authority i.e, the concerned office of the Labour Commissioner/ Inspector, Shops & Establishment, State Health & Family Welfare Deptt concerned by filing a complaint against the employer for arbitrary and illegal action affecting her maternity rights that amounted to unfair labour practice and violation of constitutional rights. If required, consult with an Acovcate to fight back for justice.