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– The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017: A maternity benefit Act stipulates that every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefit, which is the amount payable to her at the daily wage rate for the period of her actual absence. – The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“SHA”): India finally enacted its law on prevention of sexual harassment against female employees at the workplace in 2013. The statute was enacted almost 16 years after the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India, in the matter of Vishaka and others v. State of Rajasthan (“Vishaka Judgment”).
Overarching Rights Of Working Women Under Indian Laws
– The Factories Act, 1948 (“Factories Act”): The Factories Act aims at protecting workers employed in factories from unfair exploitation by their employers. The Factories Act also has exclusive provisions for women workers. Additionally, women employees must also be aware of various enactments which provide for social security for employees such as: 1. Employee’s Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 2. Employee’s State Insurance Act, 1948 3. Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 4. Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
Overarching Rights Of Working Women Under Indian Laws
In 2013, India adopted its first legislation specifically addressing the issue of workplace sexual harassment; the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act”) enacted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, India. Workplace sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination which violates a woman’s fundamental right to equality and right to life, guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
POSH Act
– The Maternity Amendment extends paid maternity leave for women employees with less than two surviving children, from the original twelve (12) weeks to twenty-six (26) weeks. – A maximum of eight (8) weeks can be taken before the expected delivery date and the remaining after childbirth. – Women expecting their third child were also provided with the right to take twelve(12) weeks of paid maternity leave—six (6) weeks before childbirth and six after.
Maternity Benefit Act
– The Maternity Amendment also provided for mothers adopting a child below three months of age, or “commissioning mothers” to take twelve (12) weeks of maternity leave from the date of receiving the child. – The Maternity Amendment enables mothers to work from home after completing twenty-six (26) weeks of leave subject to their work profiles and the employer’s consent. – The Maternity Amendment also mandates establishments employing 50 or more employees to have a creche which is required to have prescribed facilities and amenities. Women employees have a right to visit the crèche four times a day, including during their rest interval.
Maternity Benefit Act
Company Law provides for reservation of women Directors on boards of all public companies. All public companies must have at least one woman director. Although most companies fulfilled this requirement by having puppet women directors, it has still given women a foot in the door in as much as listed companies make an effort to not have simply a puppet director. It has also helped women follow how companies function at the board level, even though they are still seldom part of any real decision-making process.
Company Law
A major breakthrough for women in joint family business also happened in 2016 when the Delhi High Court conclusively decided that women can become karta in a HUF. Although the Hindu Succession Act, 1955 was amended in 2005 to give daughters the same right as sons, as a practice it was still the eldest son who would be the karta of the HUF. It was in the judgement of Sujata Sharma v. Manu Gupta that the Delhi High Court laid down that since both daughters and sons have equal rights as coparceners, it is the eldest child who becomes the karta and not the eldest son. This is a landmark judgement, still not known well enough, which has the potential to give immense power in the hands of women.
Hindu Succession Act
Laws relating to divorce fall in the realm of personal laws in India. These laws are different depending on one’s religion. Before anyone cries out foul and cites secularism here, it is important to understand that laws religious scriptures have had a huge contribution in our personal laws and even today, a great amount of Muslim law is not codified and recourse is made to religious scriptures in order to determine rights of individuals.
Divorce Laws In India
Indeed, our Constitution, in Article 12 includes ‘custom’ within the definition of law. Accordingly, we have the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 which governs the rights of Hindu women in case of divorce, which is the present topic. In addition to the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), we also have the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which gives some additional rights to women.
Divorce Laws In India
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