The Maternity Benefit Act protects the employment of women during and after pregnancy, mandating paid maternity leave and prohibiting dismissal on account of pregnancy. It was significantly strengthened by the 2017 amendment, which extended paid leave and added new provisions for working mothers.
Section 5 entitles every woman to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for her first two children, reduced to 12 weeks for the third child onwards. Commissioning and adopting mothers get 12 weeks of leave. The 2017 amendment also introduced mandatory work-from-home options where feasible and a crèche facility requirement for establishments with 50 or more employees.
Section 12 protects a woman from being discharged or dismissed during maternity leave, and any such dismissal is treated as void. Section 11 mandates two nursing breaks per day until the child turns 15 months, in addition to regular rest intervals.
Employers who contravene the Act’s provisions face imprisonment up to 1 year, or a fine up to Rs 5,000, or both, under Section 21, making non-compliance a criminal offence rather than a mere civil liability.