The Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 must be complied with by factories, mines, and plantations. The Act applies to all businesses that have more than 10 employees working each day throughout the previous 12 months. Additionally, it applies to every shop and other establishment in the concerned Indian state. Additionally, this Act applies to specific facilities and businesses. It must be followed in order to maintain the goodwill of the workforce.
Every organization must abide by this Act, and the workers must receive a number of benefits. The outcome is that the employees get the best care and their health is maintained. The health of employees is essential since it promotes the growth of the company.
The following are the major conditions required to fulfill in order to claim maternity benefits −
• The employee (women) must have worked for the establishment for at least 80 odd days in the previous 12 months in order to be eligible to receive benefits under this Act.
• The Act also protects women who miscarry, in addition to public hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and other businesses.
• A woman is entitled to a maximum of six weeks of paid leave if her pregnancy ends in miscarriage or she has an abortion. If she delivers the baby earlier than expected, the earnings will be paid 48 hours after the birth certificate is shown.
• Women were granted 12 weeks of maternity leave under the terms of the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act of 2017 has raised the leave term from 12 to 26 weeks, nevertheless.
• The 26−week maternity leave period can be divided into up to 8 weeks of leave before the expected delivery date and the remaining leave following childbirth.
• Up to two children may be granted the 26−week maximum maternity leave duration. The 12−week leave period applies to mothers who have more than two children. According to the act, a woman is not obligated to work for six weeks after a miscarriage, unless the miscarriage was caused by a medical termination of the pregnancy. Surrogate moms and mothers who have adopted a child under three months old are also eligible for 12 weeks of leave.
Section 3 Definitions
Section 4 Employment of, or work by, women is prohibited during certain periods.
Section 5 Right to payment of maternity benefit.
Section 7 Payment of maternity benefit in case of death of a woman.
Section 8 Payment of medical bonus.
Section 13 No deduction of wages in certain cases.
Section 18 Forfeiture of maternity benefits.
Section 21 Penalty for contravention of Act by the employer.
All about Overtime Payment Rules in India
Factory: Factories Act, 1948
• Weekly Limit - Maximum 48 hours a day.
• Daily limit - Maximum 9 hours a day.
• Interval - No work for more than 5 hours without an interval.
• Spread over - Working hours including interval periods not more than 10.5 hours.
• Overtime limit - Daily work time inclusive of overtime shall not exceed 10 hours which is 60 hours on a weekly basis. Overtime hours cannot exceed 50 hours in a quarter (3-month period).
As per Section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948, a person is entitled to be paid overtime wages twice his ordinary rate of wages in case he/ she is required to work for more than 9 hours a day or more than 48 hours in a week. The wages mentioned here are equivalent to the basic wages along with allowances but do not include any bonus or other overtime wages. In case a worker is paid on a ‘piece rate’ basis, the time rate will be calculated on the basis of the previous month and the amount of overtime wages will be calculated accordingly.
Shop/ Establishment: Shops and Establishments Act of States/ UTs
• Daily working hours may range from 8-10 hours
• Weekly working hours cannot exceed 48 hours
• Overtime may range from 10-11 hours on a daily basis (1 to 3 hours)
• No continuous (break-free) work for more than 5 hours in one go
• Weekly limit of 50-60 hours
• Quarterly limit of 50-150 hours
• Spread over a limit of 10-14 hours
Depending upon the rate fixed by states or union territories, employees are paid for overtime hours apart from fixed working hours in the shops or establishments. In some states, the overtime amount is twice the usual working hours. Here again, the employee overtime rate is calculated for basic + allowances (not including any bonus).
Mines Act, 1952
• Daily Working Hours - 9 hours a day above ground/ 8 hours a day under the ground
• Weekly hours - Maximum 48 hours a week
• Overtime - If a person works for more than a fixed time (above or below the ground), he/ she is entitled to overtime wages twice the ordinary rate
• The payment will be equivalent in case of employee works on a piece rate
• There is a work hour limit of a maximum of 10 hours a day inclusive of overtime
As per the overtime payment rules in India, it is calculated on basic salary. It may also include dearness or any other allowance. But it may be noted that labor law on overtime in India excludes any bonus or other such incentive while deciding or calculating overtime payment rules. In any case, the overtime payment rules do not regard the gross salary. But if there is no statutory obligation and the employer wishes to reward the hard-working employees voluntarily, overtime payment rules in India do not restrict the same. In such a case, whether overtime is paid on basic or gross in India is the employer’s choice.
