Maternity benefits can be extended beyond contractual term
Contents News/Article Date: 20th November 2023
Relating to which Act: The Maternity Benefit Act 1961, and the Maternity Benefit Rules in each State
Penalty under the Act: If any employer fails to pay any amount of maternity benefit to a woman entitled under this Act or discharges or dismisses such woman during or on account of her absence from work in accordance with the provisions of this Act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall not be less than three months.
Applicable to which State: All the States and Establishments covered by the Maternity Benefit Act and Rules.
Type: Supreme Court Pronouncement
Pertains to: All women in employment and to whom the act is applicable
Relevance of this news: Karma Global is in the business of HR Services, Payroll, Outsourcing and Regulatory Compliances right from its inception in 2004 and since then, has brought in a lot of efficiencies and technological upgradations with experts on its roll, to ease the hassles of Payroll Processing, Temp Staffing, On-boarding, Employee Life Cycle, Statutory, Regulatory and Payroll compliances by providing customized solutions to all its elite clients.
As we all know, Regulatory compliance is a set of rules, such as a specification, policies, or law that ensures an organization or a business house is following the standards set for the industry or institution by the respective authority. The rules which govern the organizations are usually set by the government or parliamentary legislation or via government regulatory authorities for organizational, social, environmental, and economic betterment. The norms and rules are related to various issues such as economic, public interest, and environmental. This entails, that apart from procuring labour laws registrations and licenses for running of a business of all shapes and sizes, the law provides for monthly maintenance of statutory registers and statutory returns as per applicability of the various acts and rules enacted for this purpose. In short, it is a compilation of data to be displayed to the authorities as per formats and norms for ensuring that employee-related benefits are lawfully bestowed on the employees or workers as the case may be without any lacunae.
Karma Global, as a global consulting giant, we have made a foray into the digital world by evolving a tool called WeProcess which is a valuable digital container holding together as a cohesive unit, all the regulatory compliances of the entity or establishment where the artificial intelligence with the chatbot popping up as a support tool, keeps a hawk’s eye on the level of compliances required to be adhered to by the establishments who are keen to be ethically compliant as per global norms and practices.
And in this instance:
Question Before the Supreme Court
Will the female employee employed on contractual basis can claim the maternity benefits, as per provisions under the Maternity Benefit Act, as her employee contract was expiring in 10 days?
Supreme Court’s Pronouncement
The Supreme Court referred to Section 12(2)(a)[3] of the Act and held that “contemplates entitlement to the benefits under the 1961 Act even for an employee who is dismissed or discharged at any time during her pregnancy if the woman, but for such discharge or dismissal, would have been entitled to maternity benefits or medical bonus. Thus, continuation of maternity benefits is inbuilt in the statute itself, where the benefits would survive and continue despite the cessation of employment”.
The Supreme Court held that once an employee is entitled to maternity benefits under Section 5 (2) of the Act (i.e., completed 80 days of employment) “such benefits can travel beyond the term of employment also. It is not co-terminus with the employment tenure”.
Subject: Maternity benefits beyond contractual employment
Appended is the complete news item
Maternity benefits can be extended beyond contractual term
Dr. Kavita Yadav v. The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Department & Ors., 2023 LLR 1299 (SC)
Question Before the Supreme Court
Will the female employee employed on contractual basis can claim the maternity benefits, as per provisions under the Maternity Benefit Act, as her employee contract was expiring in 10 days?
Supreme Court’s Pronouncement
The Supreme Court referred to Section 12(2)(a)[3] of the Act and held that “contemplates entitlement to the benefits under the 1961 Act even for an employee who is dismissed or discharged at any time during her pregnancy if the woman, but for such discharge or dismissal, would have been entitled to maternity benefits or medical bonus. Thus, continuation of maternity benefits is inbuilt in the statute itself, where the benefits would survive and continue despite the cessation of employment”.
The Supreme Court held that once an employee is entitled to maternity benefits under Section 5 (2) of the Act (i.e., completed 80 days of employment) “such benefits can travel beyond the term of employment also. It is not co-terminus with the employment tenure”.