The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act) received the
assent of the President on 27 March 2017 and is notified with
effect from 28 March 2017. The Act regulates the employment of
women before and after the birth of their child and provides for
maternity benefits. This applies to all the factories, mines, shops
and other establishments.
Maternity benefits in simple words mean paying women employees
for the period of her actual absence from work during pregnancy.
The following are the salient features of the amendment related to
the duration and applicability of maternity leave and other
facilities to be provided by the employer after the birth of the
child:
- Maternity leave available to working women has been increased
from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children. This
maternity benefit should not be availed before eight weeks from the
date of expected delivery.
