A big news has come out for women working in government jobs. Allahabad High Court has given a very strict and important decision regarding maternity leave. While hearing a petition, the court has made it clear that now the benefit of maternity leave will not be available on the birth of every child. Let us know what the whole matter is and on what basis the court has taken this decision.
What is the whole matter and the woman's argument?
This entire matter is related to government employee Shashi Kumari, who had approached the High Court after not getting maternity leave after the birth of her fourth child. He had challenged the June 19 order of the Block Education Officer, Sambhal, in which his demand for 6 months leave was outright rejected.
It was argued on behalf of petitioner Shashi Kumari that she had not taken maternity leave at the time of the birth of her previous three children, hence she should be given this leave this time for the fourth child. His lawyer described the officer's decision as arbitrary. However, on the other hand, the state government strongly opposed this petition, saying that under the existing rules, there is no provision for granting maternity leave for the fourth child and the woman had already availed the benefit of it. After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the court rejected Shashi Kumari's petition.
What are the rules of maternity leave in the country?
The rules related to maternity leave in India are mainly decided under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and its amendments in 2017. According to its rules, eligible female employees get full 26 weeks i.e. about 6 months of paid leave on the birth of the first and second child. At the same time, after the birth of the third child, this period is reduced to 12 weeks. Apart from this, there is also a rule of 12 weeks leave from the date of delivery of the child for women or surrogate mothers who adopt a child less than 3 months of age.
Out of this 26 weeks leave, a maximum of 8 weeks can be taken before delivery. To avail the benefit of this law, it is necessary that the woman must have worked for at least 80 days in the last 12 months. Along with this, in institutions where 50 or more employees work, it is mandatory to have crèche facility and the woman's job remains completely safe during holidays.
Know the rules of paternity leave also
Just as there is maternity leave for women, similarly there are rules for paternity leave for men. In India, central government employees get 15 days of paid paternity leave on the birth or adoption of a child. This leave can be taken within 6 months of the birth or adoption of the child. Its benefit is available only to those male employees who have less than two living children. During this period, employees get full salary and this leave is not deducted from any other leave account of theirs. However, there is no central law for paternity leave in private sector companies, so the leaves there completely depend on the company's own policy.