Centre advises states to allow women to work from home after maternity leave
- States have been advised to allow women to work from home after 26-week maternity leave for at least six more months
- According to the Centre, this would help better the country's dismal labour force participation rate, besides bringing health benefits
The Union government has advised states to allow women to work from home after completing their 26-week maternity leave for at least six more months, which authorities argued will help better the country’s dismal labour force participation rate, besides bringing health benefits.
The labour ministry has written to states advising them to devise rules along with employers as exposing nursing mothers to the outside environment can infect them with coronavirus and bring problems for their toddlers.
“In case where the nature of work assigned to a woman is such that she may work from home, the employer may allow her to do so after availing of the maternity benefit for such period and on such conditions as the employer and the woman may mutually agree,” the labour ministry said in a letter to principal secretaries of labour in all states and Union territories.
“Apart from covid, giving the flexibility to work from home wherever nature of work allows to do so, shall enable nursing mothers to continue to remain in employment, thus implementation of this provision shall act as an enabling tool in enhancement of participation of women in labour force,” the ministry wrote. A copy of the letter has been reviewed by Mint.
Women workforce participation has been dismal in India even before covid-19 outbreak. According to the ministry of statistics, 19.7% of the rural females and 16.1% of the urban females were in the labour force in 2018-19. In contrast 55.1% rural males and 56.7% urban males were in the labour force.
The Union government has advised that employers should be advised to allow nursing mothers to work from home possibly till the baby is one year old. It means, at least six more months post the maternity leave. But it has left the decision regarding the duration of leave in such cases to employers and employees .
“It has been conveyed that employers may be advised to allow work from home, wherever nature of work so allows , for nursing mothers at least for a period of one year from the date of birth of the child,” according to the ministry's advisory.
The Centre has advised states to take steps to create awareness about the proposal among the woman workforce, and employers. The ministry has also advised that states should write to employers advising them to allow more and more nursing mothers to work from home as per section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act, wherever nature of work so allows.
Touching upon the covid-19 threat to young mothers, the ministry said, “Nursing mothers are a highly vulnerable lot and need protection from getting infected by the coronavirus. Allowing nursing mothers to work from home can contribute to protecting them and their babies from getting infected. It is in this scenario that the enabling provision for allowing work from home assumes significance."
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First Published:2 Jun 2021, 02:36 PM IST
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