As per ESI, maternity leave will now be for twenty six weeks and not just twelve weeks. However, the twelve weeks of maternity leave will still be applicable for commissioning mother or adopting mother. In such cases, the twelve months will be considered from the date on which the child is handed over to the commissioning mother after birth or the adopting mother.
In order to avail the benefit of maternity leave, a woman must be insured. An insured woman is one who is or was an employee for whom contributions were or are being paid and includes,
- a commissioning mother who as a biological mother wishes to have a child by implanting the embryo planted in any other woman
- a woman who legally adopts a child of upto three months of age
In case of two or more than two surviving children, the insured woman will be eligible for only twelve weeks of maternity leaves. During this twelve weeks, not more than six weeks shall precede the expected date of confinement.
To view or download the Gazette notification, clickhere
