Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017? 1. Pregnant women are entitled for three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave. 2. Enterprises with crèches must allow the mother minimum six crèche visits daily. 3. Women with two children get reduced entitlements. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Explanation
Statement 1 is Incorrect: Under the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, pregnant women are entitled to 26 weeks of paid leave. However, the maximum period for which a woman can avail of pre-delivery leave is 8 weeks, not 3 months (12 weeks).
Statement 2 is Incorrect: The Act mandates that every establishment with 50 or more employees must provide a crèche facility. The employer is required to allow the woman 4 visits a day to the crèche, which includes the interval for rest allowed to her, not 6 visits.
Statement 3 is Correct: The Act provides reduced entitlements for women who have two or more surviving children. In such cases, the paid maternity leave is limited to 12 weeks (6 weeks pre-delivery and 6 weeks post-delivery) instead of the 26 weeks provided for the first two children.