Central regulation
Maternity Benefit — 26 Weeks Paid Leave
Every employer with 10+ employees must grant 26 weeks of paid maternity leave to eligible women (worked 80 days in 12 months preceding delivery), plus medical bonus, crèche facility (50+ employees), and work-from-home option.
Definition
Every employer with 10+ employees must grant 26 weeks of paid maternity leave to eligible women (worked 80 days in 12 months preceding delivery), plus medical bonus, crèche facility (50+ employees), and work-from-home option.
- SourceMaternity Benefit Act, 1961 (now subsumed under Social Security Code 2020) — Sections 5–11Alabour.gov.in
What it means in practice
Maternity Benefit — 26 Weeks Paid Leave is administered by Ministry of Labour & Employment. The obligation is grounded in Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (now subsumed under Social Security Code 2020) (Sections 5–11A).
Adopting mothers and commissioning mothers (surrogacy) get 12 weeks. Establishments with 50+ employees must provide crèche within prescribed distance.
- SourceMaternity Benefit Act, 1961 (now subsumed under Social Security Code 2020) — Sections 5–11Alabour.gov.in
Triggers (applicability predicates)
These predicates are evaluated by Compliance Radar's applicability engine against a business profile to decide whether this rule applies.
employee_count>=10has_women_employees=true
Deadlines and penalty
Cadence: ongoing
Penalty for default: Refusal of benefit: imprisonment 3 months - 1 year + fine Rs 2,000-5,000.
Citations
- SourceMaternity Benefit Act, 1961 (now subsumed under Social Security Code 2020) — Sections 5–11Alabour.gov.in