Introduction
The maternity period is the most important period of any girl’s life. Extra care is supposed to be taken while the woman is in the maternity period. Therefore, every woman who is working needs extra time for herself and her baby in the maternity period. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 came to regulate the employment of women for certain periods before and after child-birth. It also regulates to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits.
Application of the Act
Section 2 of the Act tells us that in what institutions this Act will apply. The establishments include:
- A factory, mine or plantation including any such establishment belonging to Government.
- Any shops, establishments in a State, in which ten or more persons are employed, on any day of the preceding twelve months.
- The provisions of this Act, apply to any other establishment or class of establishments, industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise. This shall be done by the state government with the approval of the central Government.
Availing Maternity Benefit
Section 5 of the Act tells about the Right to payment of maternity benefit. The Act was amended in 2017 and named Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. After the amendment section 5 of the Act describes the:
- The women employees who have worked for at least 80 days in the past 12 months are eligible to get maternity benefits in India.
- A woman adopting a child under the age of 3 months will get maternity benefit to leave for 12 months.
- A woman who has delivered a baby through surrogacy is entitled to get maternity benefits to leaving for 12 weeks.
- The maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit shall be twenty-four weeks of which not more than eighteen weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery.
- A woman who suffers from a miscarriage is entitled to get maternity benefit for 6 weeks after providing a doctor’s statement.
- A month’s maternity benefit is also allowed to women who suffer from an illness that is caused due to her pregnancy, delivery, or premature childbirth.
Section 11A of the Act provides for crèche facility to the women. Every establishment of more than 50 employees shall have the facility of crèche within such distance as may be prescribed. Every employer shall allow a four-day visit to the crèche.
Appointment of Inspectors
For protecting the interest of the women under this Act, the appropriate Government may appoint such officers as it thinks fit to be Inspectors for this Act. The Inspectors will have their local limits of the jurisdiction within which they shall exercise their functions under this Act. Therefore, some powers and duties are also given to the inspectors:
- Can enter at all reasonable times with such assistants, being persons in the service of the Government or any local or other public authority, any premises or place where women are employing or work is given to them in an establishment, to examine any registers, records and notices required to be kept or exhibited by or under this Act and require their production for inspection.
- The Inspector can examine any person whom he finds in any premises or place and who, he has reasonable cause to believe, is employed in the establishment.
- The Inspector can require the employer to give information regarding the names and addresses of women employed, payments made to them, and applications or notices received from them under this Act.
- Inspector can make copies of any registers and records or notices or any portions thereof.
The Inspectors will be the public servants as per section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
Penalty
Any employer who fails to pay any amount of maternity benefit to a woman shall be punished. The punishment shall not be less than 3 months but extend to 1 year. And this is as per section 20 of the act.
The act is punishable with fine which shall not be less than 2000/ rupees but extend to 5000/ rupees.
Conclusion
The Maternity benefits are provided to those women who are pregnant and those who are lactating. Therefore the woman needs to have complete rest after the delivery of the baby. And it is necessary for the baby too that the mother should stay healthy and close to the baby. As per Article 15(3) of the Constitution of India, the state government can make laws for the upliftment of women. Maternity Benefit Act helps the women to avail of the benefits during and after maternity leave. This is one of the ways to increase the appointment of more women employees in the organization. It is morally and ethically correct to provide maternity benefit to the woman employees.