Presently 26 weeks of Maternity Leave is entitled to a lady employee (8 weeks prior to delivery and 18 weeks after that)

Based on the premise mentioned in the query, can the lady avail less than 8 weeks of Maternity Leave before delivery and then avail a longer period (beyond 18 weeks) after delivery.

According to the clause, women employees are eligible to take a 26-week maternity leave, out of which 13 weeks can be taken before and 13 weeks after the leave. If anything changes in the weeks, the salary won't be considered, and pay can only be calculated for the 13 weeks.

Dear New Nari,

May I seek your attention once again to Sec. 5(3) of the MB Act, 1961 which reads as follows:

"Sec. 5(3) - The maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit shall be 26 weeks, of which not more than 8 weeks shall precede the date of delivery, provided that the maximum period entitled to maternity benefit by a woman having 2 or more than 2 surviving children shall be 12 weeks, of which not more than 6 weeks shall precede the date of expected delivery."

A careful analysis of the above provisions indicates that the prenatal leave shall not exceed 8 weeks in any case. If the pregnancy condition permits the woman to work as usual, she may choose to avail less than 8 weeks of leave before her expected date of delivery and add the balance to the post-delivery period. Therefore, the answer to your query can be a simple "YES" only in relation to prenatal and postnatal benefits.

Shri Umakanthan M., Addl. Commissioner of Labour (Retd.)

Sir,

Thank you for a very clear and concise reply to my query. I highly appreciate and regard the same.

Regards,
New Nari

Dear Shri Umakanthan,

We have an establishment in Coimbatore. Kindly provide the process flow for obtaining Shops Act Registration under the Tamil Nadu Shops Act.

Furthermore, I need the P.Tax slab rate of Namakkal, a town and a municipality in Namakkal district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and Madurantakam, a town and a municipality in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Your prompt response is appreciated.

Regards,