Changing lifestyles and developing societal conditions across the world tend to affect the outside world and the internal livelihood of many employees, who manage their economies of life along with the nation’s economies. In a country with many industries and small-scale employments at different scales, the duty of the government should also include regulating the employer-employee relations and making necessary reforms wherever required. As per the sources cited, those reforms came recently in the year 2018-19, where the PM Modi 2.0 government enacted several vital reforms in the form of laws to realize societal goals ultimately. One of such reforms includes the Labor law reforms. This article will look into Maternity leaves that are available under Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.


Objects and Reasons behind the act:


The preamble of the Maternity Benefit act states that it is an act basically to regulate the employment of women in specific industries or establishments for a specified period before and after the child-birth and to provide maternity benefits and few other related benefits. The act came into force on 12th December 1961.
Section 2 of the act deals with the applicability of the act. It states that the provisions of the act shall apply to every establishment that includes a factory, mine, or plantation, which also consists of the establishment that belongs to the government and to every establishment where the employer employs the persons for the exhibition of the equestrian, acrobatic and other performances. It is subjected to the proviso that the state government may with the central government’s approval after giving the prior notice of its intentions to add any other establishment.


A prohibition from employment:


Section 4 of the act deals with the prohibition of women’s employment during the specified period. No employer, with the knowledge, shall employ a woman in their establishment during six weeks that is immediately following the day of the woman’s delivery or her Miscarriage. This provision vests the duty on the employer not to employ any woman employee during the period specified in the provision. Secondly, it states that no woman should work in any of the establishment that has been specified under section 2 of the act immediately following the day of the delivery of her Miscarriage. This vests individual responsibility on the women employee, who had her delivery or Miscarriage.


Sub-section 3 of section 4 of the act states that no pregnant woman shall work in the establishment on the request made on this behalf during the period specified under subsection 4 of section 4. The work mentioned here would include the arduous or which involves long hours of standing or in any way is reasonably predicted to interfere with her pregnancy, or the normal development of the fetus or such work would cause her Miscarriage affects her health.


Sub-section 4 states, as reiterated that the period mentioned under sub-section (3) shall be (a) at the period of one month immediately preceding six weeks, before the date of her expected delivery and clause (b) states that any period during the specified period of six weeks under the act for which the pregnant woman does not avail of leave of absence mentioned under section 6 of the act.


Leave for Miscarriage caused:


Section 9 of the act specifies that in case of a miscarriage to the woman employee, the woman shall be entitled to maternity leave along with the wages at a rate of maternity benefit for a specified period of six weeks immediately after the day of her Miscarriage. The section shall require her to produce proofs that the appropriate government shall prescribe through its notifications.


Leave for illness suffered or arising out of the pregnancy:


Section 10 gives leave for illness suffered or arising out of the pregnancy, delivery, and premature birth of the child or Miscarriage. It states that of a woman who is suffering from any illness that is arising out of the pregnancy or delivery or even the Miscarriage, then she shall be entitled to a period of absence for the term that has been specified under section 6 and anything specified under section 9 of the act and the leave with the maternity benefit of wages at the rate specified for a maximum period of one month. This section also requires the woman to produce proofs prescribed by the appropriate government through its notification.


Nursing breaks under the act:


Similarly, section 11 of the act deals with nursing breaks. It specifies that every woman who has delivered a child and returns to the work or the duty after her delivery period stipulated under the act shall be provided with two breaks of prescribed duration for the child’s nursing until the child attains the age of 15 months. She shall take this specified duration and her interval for rest that has been already allowed to her. All three sections, which include sections 9, 10, and 11, provide the additional maternity period of leave or tenure of rest for the sufferings and the responsibilities vested on her as a mother.


Conclusion:


Maternity Benefit act, 1961 not only provides the benefits but also disables such benefits in case of misuse of the recognized period of leaves and maternity benefits. It would be unreasonable for any employee to defraud or disrespect the period enabled as a protection to her as part of her maternity period. Amendment to the act of 1961 in 2017 has further increased the period from 6 weeks to 8 weeks for women employees. It also suggested that the maternity period of 26 weeks shall be extended to women under maternity leave at the time of this amendment.

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