Maternity Benefit

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects a woman’s employment and income during pregnancy and after childbirth. It entitles a woman to paid leave so she does not lose her job or her wages at this stage. The 2017 amendment increased the leave and added provisions for adoptive and commissioning mothers.

Eligibility

A woman is eligible if she worked at least 80 days in the 12 months immediately before her expected date of delivery.

A woman covered under the ESI scheme receives maternity benefit from the ESIC instead of from her employer; she cannot claim from both.

Duration

Situation	Leave
First two children	26 weeks (up to 8 weeks before delivery)
Two or more living children	12 weeks
Adopting a child under three	12 weeks from the date of adoption
Commissioning mother	12 weeks
Miscarriage / medical termination	6 weeks
Tubectomy	2 weeks

Worked example

A woman’s average daily wage is ₹700. For her first child she is entitled to 26 weeks of paid leave.

Maternity benefit = Average daily wage × 26 weeks × 7 days
                  = ₹700 × 182
                  = ₹1,27,400

The benefit is paid at the rate of the average daily wage, and it is the average of the wages earned in the three months before she stopped work.

Other provisions

• Work from home — the employer and woman can agree to work-from-home for a period after the leave ends, depending on the nature of the work.
• Creche — establishments with 50 or more employees must provide a creche within a specified distance, and allow the mother four visits a day.
• Information — you must inform a woman of her maternity rights in writing at the time of appointment.
• No dismissal — you cannot dismiss or discharge a woman who is absent under the Act. Doing so does not remove your liability to pay the benefit.

Penalty

An employer who fails to pay the maternity benefit faces a fine and, for non-payment, imprisonment. The penalty ranges from a fine of at least ₹2,000 (rising to ₹5,000) with imprisonment of three months to a year.

Under the Labour Codes

Maternity benefit now sits under the Social Security Code, which also extends social security to gig and platform workers. See the Labour Codes overview.