Review and amendments of various labour laws is an ongoing process. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was amended in 2008 by which for section 8, the following section was substituted:
“8(1) Every woman entitled to maternity benefit under this Act shall also be entitled to receive from her employer a medical bonus of one thousand rupees, if no pre-natal confinement and post-natal care is provided for by the employer free of charge.
(2) The Central Government may before every three years by notification in the Official Gazette increase the amount of medical bonus subject to the maximum of twenty thousand rupees”.
The Central Government vide notification No. S.O. 2016(E) dated 11th August, 2008 increased the amount of medical bonus from Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 2500/-. Further, vide notification No. S.O. 2016(E) dated 19th December, 2011, the amount of medical bonus has been increased from Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 3500/-.
This information was given by the Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha today.
This is Government notification. Benefits under a statutory notification are in addition to service rule. In brief, the statute prevails over service rule, if the same falls short of statute.
Very good amendement of the the ‘Maternity Benefit Act’.
Does the maternity benefit act ,1961 apply to the private working women also ? If this maternity bonus is not in the rules of the company, how can one claim the same ? Also, if the employer pays 3 months paid maternity leave, is this bonus amount over & above that ? & if so, how is it paid i.e. for how may months it should be paid by the employer ?