Applicability Of Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2016

Hello Everyone,

I need help in understanding a doubt of mine regarding the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2016. Suppose a woman has applied for Maternity Leave as per the old rules (twelve weeks of leave), and while she was on leave, these amendments are notified by the Government, making the new rule of twenty-six weeks applicable. Under such a scenario, can a woman (who was already on leave for 12 weeks under the previous act before the amendment) legally extend her leave to 26 weeks according to the new amendments? I am sure many people will have this question. Any help or guidance on this will be humbly appreciated.

Thanks

Yes, the employees currently on maternity leave will be eligible for the new rule.

FYI, the Gazette notification regarding the said amendment has not been released yet.

The Maternity Leave will be for 12 weeks until the Gazette Notification is released. If the maternity leave of 12 weeks is completed before the notification is released, then no extension will be provided as per the new amendment. If the notification is released before the expiry of the Maternity leave of 12 weeks, the extension of 14 weeks can be accepted, in my best view. Seniors, please guide if wrong.

Can we make the changes or updates to our existing Maternity leave policy, or do we have to wait for a Gazette notification? Please suggest.

Some of the companies have changed their internal Maternity Leave Policy. I recently learned about a company that sent an email to all its employees regarding the policy change, mentioning that they voluntarily initiated the change for "Women Empowerment." Many companies are waiting for the Official Gazette notification.

Thank you so much for your time and replies. I hope that after the release of the Gazette Notification, companies will promptly update their policies and officially inform those already on maternity leave. I hope that employees will not have to struggle to get their leaves extended as per the amendment.

Thank you once again.

Gazette notification has already been released. Please find the attached notification.

Nishant Jha

This notification is just for the introduction of the Bill in Rajya Sabha. It is not an Act.

Thank you, P.C. Agrawal. Is there any hope to have this come into effect before the next Lok Sabha session?

Hi Everyone,

Please guide me, is the Maternity Benefit Act 2016 notification valid?

Thank you.