Maternity Benefit Act 1961-A study on history, scope and amendments in India

VenkataVaraPrasad Janjanam Dr A.V.V.S.Subbalakshmi,

Ph.D. scholar, Assistant Professor (senior),
VIT AP Department of management studies
VIT AP

Abstract

This paper is a brief study on the history of Maternity Benefit act, 1961 its implementation in
India, Scope of the act and its Amendments. Efforts are taken about the bill and comparison
with other countries are also made with regard to Maternity benefits. The author has briefly
studied about the maternity leave , payments, benefits, remuneration, bonus, wage
deduction, nursing breaks, forfeiture of maternity benefits ,registers and penalty etc.
Maternity leave around the world, worst and best countries for paid maternity leave are also
presented.. Recent Amendments to the maternity bill and its major queries like Applicability
of the act to contractual or consultant women employees, whether women who are already in
maternity leave are benefitted to the new amendment are also discussed.

Keywords: Maternity leave, comparison, amendments.

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Introduction
Maternity benefit act was legally introduced in India for the first time in Bombay Legislative
council on 28th July 1928, Dr.B.R.Ambedhkar supported and defended it. The act was
enacted by Parliament in the 12th year of Republic of India on 12 th December 1961 as Act
no.53 of 1961.The main objective of this act is to regulate the employment of the women for
certain period of time before and after the child birth. To provide maternity benefit and
certain other benefits, this act is applicable to the factories, mines, plantations, government
establishments, shops and establishments under government Legislative or others recognised
by the central government in which ten or more persons employed or were employed on any
day of the preceding twelve months.

Amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

In the year 2017, Government of India approved the bill of amendment to the Maternity
Benefit act, 1961. Following were the Amendments approved.

 Maternity benefit leave duration has increased from twelve weeks to twenty six weeks
and it is not applicable for the mother having children’s more than two.
 A commissioning mother shall be entitled to maternity benefit for twelve weeks from
the day she handed the baby under commissioning or adoption.
 Crèche facility should be provided if the establishment has more than fifty employees.
Mother is allowed to crèche four times a day and the period of visit is considered as
interval of break or rest.
 Based on the constraints in the organization, women have the facility to work at home
after the maternity leave, based on mutual understanding between employee and
employer.

The new amendment is applicable to all contractual and consultant women employees.
Women who are already in leave are benefitted to the new amendment. Protection of women
in case she is fired by the employer after learning her pregnancy. The benefits of new act can
be extended to un-organised sector.

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 Comparative study of Maternity Act benefits around the world
Country Maternity Leave Wages Paid
United States of America Twelve weeks. No National program but
cash benefits may be
provided by state
government.
Iceland Three months for mother, 80 percentage of Average
three months for father, three monthly salary
months for mother or father.
Total nine months
Japan fourteen weeks sixty seven percentage of
average monthly salary
Malta Fourteen weeks. full salary
New Zealand Fourteen weeks Fourteen weeks with paid
salary and thirty eight weeks
with unpaid salary.
Switzerland Fourteen weeks. Eighty percentage of average
monthly salary.
Belgium Fifteen weeks. Eighty two percentage of
average monthly salary for
first month and seventy five
percentage for remaining
period.
Finland One hundred and five days. Seventy percentage of
average monthly salary.
Slovenia One hundred and five days. full salary.

Austria Fourteen weeks. Sixty five percentage of

average monthly salary
France Sixteen weeks. Full salary
Latvia One hundred and twelve Full salary
days.

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Luxembourg Sixteen weeks. Full salary
Netherlands Sixteen weeks. Full salary
Spain Sixteen weeks. Full salary
Greece One hundred and nineteen Fifty percentage of average
days. monthly salary.
Australia Eighteen weeks. Full salary
Lithonia One hundred and twenty six Full salary
days.
Moldova One hundred and twenty six Full salary
days.
Ukraine One hundred and twenty six Full salary
days.
Romania One hundred and twenty six Eighty five percentage of
days. average monthly salary.
Portugal One hundred twenty days to Full salary for short term,
One hundred fifty days. eighty percentage for long
term.
Estonia One hundred and forty days. Full salary
Poland Twenty weeks. Full salary
Russia One hundred and forty days. Full salary
Bulgaria Four hundred and ten days. Ninety percentage of average
Parents can be permitted to monthly salary.
take additional year of
parental leave at minimum
wage.

Hungary Twenty four weeks. Seventy percentage of

average monthly salary.

Ireland Twenty six weeks. Eighty percentage of average

monthly salary.
Czech Republic Twenty eight weeks. Sixty percentage of average
monthly salary.

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Slovakia Twenty eight weeks. Fifty percentage of average
monthly salary.
Macedonia Nine months.

Norway Thirty weeks to forty six Full salary for the short term
weeks. and eighty percentage for
long term.
Bosnia & Herzegovina one year. Eighty two percentage for 1st
30 days and seventy five
percentage for remaining
period.
Canada Fifty two weeks. Fifty five percentage.
Croatia One year. Full salary
Denmark Fifty two weeks. Full salary
Serbia Fifty two weeks. Full salary
United Kingdom Fifty two weeks. Ninety percentage of average
weekly earnings.

Sweden Four hundred days 80 percentage of average

monthly salary.

Observations
An exploratory maternity leave form twelve weeks to twenty six weeks has changed the
position of India to top 10 countries in the world. With the flexible maternity leave system in
India people are allowed to work home option, crèche facility, more easily reachable to
unorganised sectors changed the India to one of the best country for women to work. All this
credit goes to the recent amendment implemented by the government of India. The sad thing
was this amendment has taken birth after fifty six years of maternity benefit act implemented.
But this amendment act bought huge positive environment, protection, security to all the
women in the country. Nearly 1.8 million women who are working in an un-organised sector
are benefitted by this bill. Following were the positive outputs form the bill.

 Good for baby growth – this act helps the baby to grow in stress free environment and
a better child care.

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  A study shows that the depth of mortality rate of infants dropped by nearly ten
percentages.
 Improved and better relationship between the mother and infant.
 Due to these benefits the mental health of women was improved. A study shows that
the depression levels of mothers who are fifty years old or approximately after thirty
years has decreased.
 Now this act can be easily utilised by the UN – organised sector women.
 There is significant amount of reduction of working mothers drop out.
o Ex: - Google Company raised the maternity leave from twelve weeks to
eighteen weeks, result was fifty percentage of working mothers preferred not
to leave the company.
 It is an win-win strategy for both the employee and employer. After maternity leave
so many mothers worked more hours.
 Good for economy of our country. Turnover of businesses was raised to good
amount. No need to spend excess training cost.
 Women who preferred public assistance dropped to good amount.
 Increased labour force participation.

Recommendations

1. There needs to be convergence of Ministries of Women and Child, Health, Rural

Development, Labour on entitlement of benefits as enumerated under the Act.

2. Awareness about the law has to be raised

3. There is great need to improve the implementation of the Act with regard to access to
medical bonus and nursing breaks.

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