December 26, 2023

Maternity benefits at the workplace are necessary to ensure job security, protect women’s economic rights and support their maternal duties. In India, the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 provides maternity benefits in the form of maternity leave for all women employees.  Maternity leave is a paid leave provided to expecting or pregnant women who can utilise it before and after the delivery of the child. All employers or organisations in India must give maternity leave to pregnant women. It is vital to ensure the overall well-being of the newborn child and mother. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which follows the model of the International Labor Organization, seeks to provide maternity protection to women in order to promote this goal. The Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961, and its most recent amendment from 2017 ensure that women can actively participate in the workforce after giving birth. The increasing transformation of society makes it necessary for women to avoid becoming exposed during the precarious stage of pregnancy. In order to prevent this from having an influence on women, their productivity, or economic growth, the Maternity Benefit Act guarantees that a woman has equal protection to employment during pregnancy. In this article, we look into Maternity Benefits available to a woman in India as per the Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961. Maternity Benefit Act 1961 In India, maternity leave and benefits are regulated under the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 (‘Act’). The Act provides comprehensive maternity benefits, including medical bonuses, paid leave and nursing breaks. The Act supports women during the birth of their child. It protects and safeguards the livelihood and interests of female employees and gives them time to nurture their newborns while taking care of themselves. As per the Act, women working at recognised organisations and factories can take maternity leave for up to 6 months. Women employees can take maternity leave before and after they deliver the child for up to 6 months. During this leave period, the employer must pay the women employee her entire salary.  Scope and Importance of Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 The Act’s primary goal is to eliminate the obstacles that women face when they embark on the parenthood journey. The fundamental goal of the Act is to make it possible for women to balance employment and motherhood without having to make concessions. By the end of the 19th century, Germany had established maternity benefits, setting the standard for the rest of the world. The Maternity Protection Convention was developed by the International Labor Organization in accordance with the notion. In the Indian context, N.M. Joshi proposed the Maternity Benefit Bill (No. 31 of 1924) in the Central Legislature in 1929 after seeing the need for maternity benefit legislation. Prior to this, in the 1920s, the Women’s Association of India waged a campaign to obtain maternity rights in the Jamshedpur steel sector. Following that, the Central Government made an effort by passing the Mines Maternity Benefit Act, of 1941, the Employees’ State Insurance Act, of 1948, and the Plantations Labor Act, of 1951. These acts eventually made room for the Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961, which was passed by the Parliament with the sole purpose of regulating the employment of women for a specific period before and after childbirth. The ambiguities regarding the various maternity leave periods and the minimum term of service required to be eligible for maternity benefits were the driving forces for the codification. By providing a woman with complete and healthy maintenance when she is not working, we are able to further the larger goal of safeguarding the dignity associated with motherhood. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961: Amendment 2017 The 2017 Amendment was enacted in response to the 259th Law Commission Report, which stated: “The Maternity Benefit Act is revised in conformity with the forward-looking requirements in the CCS Rules, increasing maternity benefits from twelve weeks to 180 days.” Maternity benefits should be made mandatory by the state rather than left to the discretion of employers, and they should apply to all women, even those working in the unorganized sector. It is advised that the government develop policies or guidelines outlining minimum requirements for paid maternity leave for women working in the private sector.” Mr. Bandar Dattatreya, Minister for Labor and Employment, tabled the Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was proposed after the 44th Session of the Indian Labor Conference (ILC) advocated increasing the length of maternity leave, which was reaffirmed in the 45th and 46th Sessions. This was in addition to the recommendations by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to expand the scope of maternity benefits for women. According to World Health Organization recommendations, there was a need to extend Maternity Leave to preserve the health of both the mother and the child, especially since a kid needed to be nursed for the first 24 months to boost survival rates. Analysis of important Sections incorporated in Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 Maternity Leave Duration [Section 5(3)]According to the Act, every woman is entitled to a 12-week maternity benefit. The Act aims to raise this to 26 weeks. Furthermore, under previous laws, a woman may not use the benefit before 6 weeks from the projected delivery date. The Amendment reduces this to an 8-week timeframe. In the case of a woman who has two or more children, the maternity benefit will remain at 12 weeks, which cannot be used six weeks from the projected delivery date. Adoptive and Commissioning Mothers’ Maternity Leave [Section 5(4)]The Amendment also gives a woman who lawfully adopts a child under the age of three months, as well as a commissioning mother, who is defined as a biological mother who uses her egg to develop an embryo implanted in another woman, 12 weeks of maternity leave. The 12 weeks of maternity leave will begin when the kid is given over to the adoptive or commissioning mother. Work from Home Possibility [Section5 (5)]The Amendment includes an innovative provision that allows women to work from home depending on the nature of the task they are to perform. The task might