MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2017

Preamble - MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2017

 

THE MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2017

[Act No. 06 of 2017]

[27th March, 2017]

PREAMBLE

An Act further to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:--

 

Section 1 - Short title and commencement

 

(1)     This Act may be called the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.

 

(2)     It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:

Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

Section 2 - Amendment of section 3

 

[1] [In the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961(53 of 1961) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 3, after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:--

'(ba) "commissioning mother" means a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman;'.]

 

Section 3 - Amendment of section 5

 

[2] [In the principal Act, in section 5,--

(A)     in sub-section (3)?

 

(i)     for the words ''twelve weeks of which not more than six weeks'', the words ''twenty-six weeks of which not more than eight weeks'' shall be substituted;

 

(ii)    after sub-section (3) and before the first proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:--

''Provided that the maximum period entitled to maternity benefit by a woman having two or more than two surviving children shall be twelve weeks of which not more than six weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery;'';

(iii) in the first proviso, for the words ''Provided that'', the words ''Provided further that'' shall be substituted;

(iv) in the second proviso, for the words ''Provided further that'', the words ''Provided also that'' shall be substituted;

(B)     after sub-section (3), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:--

''(4) A woman who legally adopts a child below the age of three months or a commissioning mother shall be entitled to maternity benefit for a period of twelve weeks from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother or the commissioning mother, as the case may be.]

(5) In case where the nature of work assigned to a woman is of such nature that she may work from home, the employer may allow her to do so after availing of the maternity benefit for such period and on such conditions as the employer and the woman may mutually agree."]

Section 4 - Insertion of new section 11A

 

In the principal Act, after section 11, the following section shall be inserted, namely:--

''11A.Cr?che facility

[3] [(1) Every establishment having fifty or more employees shall have the facility of cr?che within such distance as may be prescribed, either separately or along with common facilities:

Provided that the employer shall allow four visits a day to the creche by the woman, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to her.]

[4] [(2) Every establishment shall intimate in writing and electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment regarding every benefit available under the Act.]

 

Clarification - MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2017

Ministry : Ministry of Labour and Employment

Notification No. : S-36012/03/2015-SS-I

Date : 12.04.2017

To,

The Labour Department,
All States/Union Territories

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017-reg.

Sir/Madam,

In line with recommendations of the 44th 45th & 46th Session of Indian Labour Conference (ILC) and demands from various quarters, the Government has recently enacted the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. Through this Amendment Act, following provisions have been added to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961:-

?                     Increase in the maternity leave from existing 12 to 26 weeks for working women with less than two surviving children.

?                     Provisions for work from home for nursing mothers.

?                     Mandatory provisions for establishments having fifty or more employees to have the facility of cr?che.

?                     Extension of twelve weeks of maternity benefit to the 'commissioning mother' and the 'adopting mother' from the date the child is handed over.

Provisions of the Amendment Act have come into force w.e.f. 1st April, 2017, except those relating to cr?che facility {Section 4(1)} which would come into force from 01.07.2017.

2. After the enactment of the said Act, the Ministry has been receiving numerous queries relating the revised provisions of the Act. The Ministry has examined such queries in consultation with Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) and the same are clarified as below :-

3. It is requested that these clarifications may be noted for compliance and also circulated widely so as to make the pregnant working women aware of their rights.

Yours faithfully
(H. L. Meena)
Director (SS)

 

Statement of Objects and Reasons - MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2017

 

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

(1)     The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 regulates the employment of women in factories, mines, the circus industry, plantations and shops or establishments employing ten or more persons, except the employees who are covered under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, for certain periods before and after child-birth and provides for maternity and other benefits.

 

(2)     The 44th Session of Indian Labour Conference (ILC), has recommended for enhancing maternity leave under Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 from existing twelve weeks to twenty-four weeks. This recommendation has been reiterated during 45th and 46th Session of ILC. The Ministry of Women and Child Development and other stakeholders has also requested to enhance maternity benefit under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

 

 

(3)     Based on the recommendations of ILC and requests from the various quarters and the deliberations during the Tripartite Consultations with stakeholders, it has been decided to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

 

(4)     The salient features of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 are as follows:-

 

 

(i)       increase the maximum period of maternity benefit from the existing twelve weeks to twenty-six weeks, in case of women who have less than two surviving children and in other cases, the existing period of twelve weeks maternity benefit shall continue;

 

(ii)      to extend the maternity benefits to a "commissioning mother" and "adopting mother" and they shall be entitled to twelve weeks maternity benefit from the date the child is handed over;

 

 

(iii)     to facilitate "work from home" to a mother by inserting an enabling provision;

 

(iv)    to make it mandatory in respect of establishment having fifty or more employees, to have the facility of cr?che either individually or as a shared common facility within such distance as may be prescribed by rules and also to allow four visits to the cr?che by the woman daily, including the interval for rest allowed to her;

 

 

(v)      every establishment shall intimate in writing and electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment about the benefits available under the Act.

 

(5)     The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.