As per the Act, to be eligible for maternity benefit, a woman must have been working as an employee in an establishment for a period of at least 80 days within the past 12 months.
The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act has also introduced an enabling provision relating to "work from home" for women, which may be exercised after the expiry of the 26-week leave period.
Depending upon the nature of work, women employees may be able to avail this benefit on terms that are mutually agreed with the employer.
The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act makes creche facility mandatory for every establishment employing 50 or more employees.
[10] Regarding how the bulk of employment is in the informal sector, Team-lease estimates, that 11-18 Lakh jobs for women will be lost because of the implementation of the Act, over the first four years.
[11] In most countries, the cost of maternity leave is shared by the government, employer, insurance agency and other social security programs.