Maternity Benefit in India: 26 Weeks Leave and Your Rights Under the Code on Social Security

A working woman in India gets up to 26 weeks of paid maternity benefit for her first two children, and 12 weeks from the third child onwards, under section 60 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which replaced the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 from 21 November 2025. She must have actually worked at least 80 days in the 12 months before the expected delivery. Adoptive and commissioning mothers get 12 weeks from the date the child is handed over. Her employer cannot dismiss or discharge her during maternity leave (s.68), and establishments with 50 or more employees must provide a creche (s.67).

What the Code gives you

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was repealed when the four Labour Codes took effect on 21 November 2025. Its scheme now sits in Chapter VI of the Code on Social Security, 2020. The core entitlements were carried over.

1. Paid leave at your average daily wage. 26 weeks if you have fewer than two surviving children; 12 weeks if you have two or more.
2. Medical bonus. ₹3,500, or any higher amount the Central Government notifies, where the employer does not provide free pre-natal and post-natal care (s.64).
3. Nursing breaks. Two breaks a day until the child is 15 months old (s.66).
4. Creche. Every establishment with 50 or more employees must have a creche, alone or as a common facility; the mother may visit four times a day, including rest intervals (s.67(1)).
5. Work from home. After the leave, if the nature of work allows, the employer may let you work from home on mutually agreed terms (s.60(5)). This is by agreement, not an automatic right.
6. Written information. The employer must tell every woman about these benefits in writing and electronically at the time of initial appointment (s.67(2)).

Who is eligible

Chapter VI applies to every factory, mine and plantation (including government ones), and to every shop or establishment in which 10 or more employees are or were employed on any day in the preceding 12 months. The government can extend it to other establishments.

You must have actually worked at least 80 days in the 12 months immediately before your expected date of delivery. Days of lay-off and paid holidays during that period count. The test is days worked, not total length of service, so a woman who joined 5 months ago and has worked 100 days already qualifies.

Contract, probation and fixed-term status does not by itself take away the benefit. In Dr. Kavita Yadav v. Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2023), the Supreme Court held that a contractual employee could claim maternity benefit running beyond the end date of her contract.

If you are insured under the Employees’ State Insurance scheme, ask HR and your ESI branch office whether your benefit is paid by the employer or through ESI, and keep that answer in writing.

Adoptive and commissioning mothers

Section 60(4) gives 12 weeks’ maternity benefit to a woman who legally adopts a child, and to a commissioning mother (in surrogacy), from the date the child is handed over. The original text limited adoption benefit to a child below three months. On 17 March 2026, in Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of India, the Supreme Court struck down that age limit as unconstitutional. An adoptive mother of a two-year-old can now claim the 12 weeks.

Protection from dismissal

Section 68 makes it unlawful to discharge or dismiss a woman during or on account of her maternity absence, or to give her a notice that expires during that absence, or to vary her service conditions to her disadvantage. Even if she is dismissed during pregnancy, she does not lose the maternity benefit or medical bonus, except where dismissal is for gross misconduct as prescribed. A woman deprived of benefit or dismissed can appeal to the competent authority within 60 days.

Example: Neha, a marketing executive at a Pune firm with 40 staff, informs HR of her pregnancy in March. In June, a week into her leave, she gets an email “restructuring your role out”. That termination is hit by section 68. She should reply in writing, preserve the email, and approach the Inspector-cum-Facilitator or send a legal notice.

Step-by-step: claiming your maternity benefit

1. Give written notice to your employer of the date from which you will be absent. Remember that for the 26-week entitlement, not more than 8 weeks can be taken before the expected delivery.
2. Attach proof of pregnancy or delivery, such as a doctor’s certificate, as your employer’s rules require.
3. Keep copies of every email and HR acknowledgement.
4. If refused, complain to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator under the Code, or raise it on the Ministry of Labour’s Samadhan portal (samadhan.labour.gov.in), and consider a legal notice.

Common mistakes

• Resigning under pressure before leave starts. Once you resign, the dismissal protection is harder to use.
• Accepting “leave without pay” when you qualify for paid benefit.
• Not counting days worked correctly. It is 80 days actually worked, not 80 days of employment.
• Assuming work from home is a right. It is by mutual agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Is maternity leave 26 weeks for every child?

No. 26 weeks applies if you have fewer than two surviving children. From the third child, it is 12 weeks.

Do I need one year of service?

No. You need to have actually worked at least 80 days in the 12 months before the expected delivery date.

Can a private company refuse maternity leave to a probationer?

If the establishment is covered and you meet the 80-day test, probation does not take away the benefit.

What is the medical bonus?

₹3,500 or such amount as the Central Government notifies, payable where the employer does not provide free pre-natal and post-natal care (s.64).

Is a creche compulsory for a small office?

The creche duty applies to establishments with 50 or more employees.

Quick quiz

For a full, practical module on work rights, see Certificate Course in Everyday Law for Every Indian.

Sources

• Code on Social Security, 2020, Chapter VI (sections 59 to 72), including sections 60, 64, 66, 67 and 68, and the First Schedule
• Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026
• Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of India, Supreme Court, 17 March 2026
• Dr. Kavita Yadav v. Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Supreme Court, 2023

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.