Maternity Benefit (amendment) Act, 2017

The Maternity (Amendment) Bill 2017, that modifies the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, was approved by the Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2016, the Lok Sabha on March 9, and the President of India on March 27, 2017. The Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 safeguards women's employment during pregnancy and grants them the right to a "maternity benefit," or fully paid leave from work, to care for their unborn child. 

 

The Act is applicable to all businesses, including factories, mines, plantations, shops & institutions, and other entities, that employ 10 or more people. Establishments with 50 or more employees must additionally offer childcare (crèche) facilities, either separately or along with common facilities within a prescribed distance.

The terms of this act take effect on April 1, 2017. The crèche facility provision (Section 11A) will, go into force from July 1, 2017, onwards. This act's provisions, along with those of many other acts, were combined into the Code on Social Security, 2020, repealing the acts in the process.

 

The Act was applicable to all premises, including factories, mines, plantations, government buildings, retail businesses, establishments covered by applicable laws, and any other establishment that the Central Government may have notified.

 

According to the Act, a woman must have worked as an employee at an establishment for at least 80 days in the previous 12 months in order to be eligible for maternity benefits. The average daily wage for the actual absence period is used to determine how much will be paid during the leave period. 

 

The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act extended the existing 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to a total of 26 weeks for women employees. According to the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, women may use this benefit for a maximum of eight weeks before to the anticipated delivery date, with the remaining time being used after childbirth. The length of paid maternity leave for mothers who are expecting two or more living children must be 12 weeks (i.e. six weeks before and six weeks after expected date of delivery).

Mother who adopt a child who is under three months old at the time of the adoption as well as  to the "commissioning mothers" are both entitled to a 12-week maternity leave. The biological mother who utilizes her egg to make an embryo that is implanted in another woman is referred to as the commissioning mother.

 

The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act also includes a provision that allows women to "work from home," which they may use once their 26-week leave term has ended. Women employees may be able to take advantage of this perk under conditions that are mutually agreed upon with the employer depending on the nature of the work. 

 

Every firm with 50 or more employees is required to have a creche facility under the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act. Where women employees do not have access to crèche facilities, there should be two and a -half hour rest breaks. Women employees would be allowed to visit the crèche four times per day (including rest intervals).

 

Employers are required by the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act to inform women about the maternity benefits that are available to them at the time of their visit. 

 

Employers will discriminate against women of childbearing age if such leave is mandated by the employer, as it is in India though Policy design is crucial.

 

More capital and operating expenses are necessary because of additional requirements like crèche facilities. In India, certain businesses could be reluctant to hire young women. When they do, the women might see a decrease in pay as businesses make up for higher lifetime costs. 

 

Employers are responsible for paying the whole cost of granting leave to employees, including both continuous salary while on leave and the indirect cost of needing to complete the employee's work by hiring other workers. Additionally, it raises the price of the interim training given to the worker hired to fill in for the absent worker. 

 

11-18 lakh jobs for women will be lost due to the Act's implementation over the course of the first four years, according to Team- lease projections,  given that the majority of employment is in the informal sector. 

 

In most nations, the government, employer, insurance company, and other social security systems all contribute to the cost of maternity leave.

In Singapore, for instance, the expense is split evenly between the employee and the company for eight weeks. 

 

In Canada and Australia, public money cover the entire expense.

In France, the expense is covered by a social insurance programme. 

In Brazil, it is split between the government, the employer, and the employee. 

 

According to a Team-lease impact research, 5 out of 10 sectors where women were predicted to be more prevalent in the workforce actually showed a decline in their percentage after three years. 

 

With the intention of extending social security to all employees and workers in both organized and unorganized as well as any other sectors, the Code on Social Security, 2020 is a code to update and consolidate the laws relating to social security.

 

According to the Social Security Code of 2020, gig and platform employees in the unorganized sector are covered by social security programs that include life and disability insurance, health and maternity benefits, provident insurance, pensions, and skill-upgrading opportunities.

 

The Social Security Code, 2020 combines nine key labour laws pertaining to social security. 

 

Santosh Gangwar, the labour minister, presented the measure. The Lok Sabha approved the bill on September 22, 2020, and the Rajya Sabha approved it on September 23, 2020. The Second National Commission on Labor’s Report and Recommendations were taken into consideration when creating the bill. 

 

It consolidated the following laws: the Employees' Compensation Act of 1923, the Employees' State Insurance Act of 1948, the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952, the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act of 1959, the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, the Payment of Gratuity Act of 1972, the Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act of 1981, the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act of 1996, and the Unorganized Workers social security act 2008.

 

The measure was approved by the president on September 28, 2020, and section 142 of the Act took effect on May 3, 2021.