Planning for Maternity Leave – Know Your Rights and Enjoy Motherhood

Working women take the term maternity leave for granted. But maternity leave and benefit are not available to everyone. The female employee has to be eligible to avail the benefits. Maternity policy differs from organisation to organisation. The employee should enquire from the human resource department of their company about the maternity policies of the company. A good HR policy in place makes sure that a woman’s career doesn’t suffer and neither does her duties as a mother.

Maternity Benefits Act 1961

It is applicable to all the establishments belonging to “the government and to factory, mines or plantations, and any shop and establishment which has 10 or more employees in the last 12 months” The Act gives the woman employee ‘the assurance’ that her rights will be looked after while she is away from work and taking care of her new born.

Eligibility

For being eligible for maternity leave the woman employee should have worked in the establishment for not less than 80 days in the last 12 months preceding the expected date of delivery. Do check with your HR department to know your company’s policy on this.

Benefits

Some organisations also grant maternity leave upto a period of 90 days and sometimes upto 180 days. This is seen mostly in large PSUs and private sector companies and public and private sector banks. Some organisations may also grant leave upto a periods of 1 year. This can be with or without pay. It has recently been proposed to the government to increase the maternity leaves upto 24 weeks instead of 12 weeks. It has also been proposed to provide 12 weeks maternity leave to commissioning women (using of surrogates to have a child) and working women who are adopting a child.
In case the female faces health issues related to pregnancy, delivery or miscarriage, the employee can take extra leave maximum upto a period of 1 month. The employee will have to submit medical certificate.
Some companies also provide cover for expenses during delivery in a good hospital. Health insurance benefits are also provided in some companies to female employees. But this may vary from company to company. Check with your HR department.

Inform Well in Time

During pregnancy the female employee can say no to physically strenuous or hazardous work. Anything that will be unfavourable for her health or for normal foetal development should be avoided for example standing for long hours, night shifts and so on.

Legal obligation

Under the Act, no employer can knowingly employ a woman during the 6 weeks periods from the date of delivery or miscarriage. No woman shall work in any establishment during the period of 6 weeks from the date of delivery. If she joins another establishment during this period she will forfeit her maternity benefits. According to the law, during the duration of the maternity leave, no employer can discharge or dismiss the woman employee, unless there has been a gross misconduct on the part of the woman employee.

Contravention of the Act

In case of infraction, the employer shall face imprisonment for a period of minimum 3 months to maximum 1 year or a fine of not less than rupees 2 thousand upto rupees 5 thousand, or both. But if the woman employee may face discrimination during her pregnancy and is denied the maternity benefits by the employer, she has the right to file a complaint in the labour court.
Several IT and ITES companies give a lot bandwidth to the female employees while they are pregnant by giving them flexible working hours and work from home option. Some companies also have day care facility within the office premises. Once they return to work , the employees is also permitted nursing breaks during the working hours until the child reaches an age of 15 months.