Power of Inspector to direct payments to be made.

(1) Any woman claiming that maternity benefit or any other amount to which she is entitled under this Act any person claiming that payment due under section 7 has been improperly withheld may make a complaint to the Inspector.

(2) The Inspector may, of his own motion or on receipt of a complaint referred to in sub-section (1), make an inquiry or cause an inquiry to be made an if satisfied that payment has been wrongfully withheld, may direct the payment to be made in accordance with his orders.

(3) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Inspector under sub-section (2) may, within thirty days from the date on which such decision is communicated to such person, appeal to the prescribed authority.

(4) The decision of the prescribed authority where an appeal has been preferred to it under sub-section (3) or of the Inspector where no such appeal has been preferred, shall be final.

(5) Any amount payable under this section shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

Power of Inspector to direct payments to be made.

(1) Any woman claiming that maternity benefit or any other amount to which she is entitled under this Act any person claiming that payment due under section 7 has been improperly withheld may make a complaint to the Inspector.

(2) The Inspector may, of his own motion or on receipt of a complaint referred to in sub-section (1), make an inquiry or cause an inquiry to be made an if satisfied that payment has been wrongfully withheld, may direct the payment to be made in accordance with his orders.

(3) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Inspector under sub-section (2) may, within thirty days from the date on which such decision is communicated to such person, appeal to the prescribed authority.

(4) The decision of the prescribed authority where an appeal has been preferred to it under sub-section (3) or of the Inspector where no such appeal has been preferred, shall be final.

(5) Any amount payable under this section shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

Inspectors to be public servants

Every Inspector appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Powers and duties of Inspectors.

An Inspector may, subject to such restrictions or condition as may be prescribed, exercise all or any of the following powers namely:-

(a) enter at all reasonable times with such assistants, if any, being persons in the service of the Government or any local or other public authority, as he thinks fit, any premises or place where women are employed or work is given to them in an establishment, for the purposes of examining any registers, records and notices required to be kept or exhibited by or under this Act and require this production for inspection;

(b) examine any person whom he finds in any premises or place and who, he has reasonable cause to believe, is employed in the establishment:

Provided that no person shall be compelled under this section to answer any question or give any evidence tending to incriminate himself;

(c) require the employer to give information regarding the names and addresses of women employed, payments made to them, and applications or notice received from them under this Act; and

(d) take copies of any registers and records or notices or any portions thereof.

Powers and duties of Inspectors.

An Inspector may, subject to such restrictions or condition as may be prescribed, exercise all or any of the following powers namely:-

(a) enter at all reasonable times with such assistants, if any, being persons in the service of the Government or any local or other public authority, as he thinks fit, any premises or place where women are employed or work is given to them in an establishment, for the purposes of examining any registers, records and notices required to be kept or exhibited by or under this Act and require this production for inspection;

(b) examine any person whom he finds in any premises or place and who, he has reasonable cause to believe, is employed in the establishment:

Provided that no person shall be compelled under this section to answer any question or give any evidence tending to incriminate himself;

(c) require the employer to give information regarding the names and addresses of women employed, payments made to them, and applications or notice received from them under this Act; and

(d) take copies of any registers and records or notices or any portions thereof.

Appointment of Inspectors.-

The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint such officers as it thinks fit to be Inspectors for the purposes of this Act and may define the local limits of the jurisdiction within which they shall exercise their functions under this Act.

No deduction of wages in certain cases.

No deduction from the normal and usual daily wages of a woman entitled to maternity benefit under the provisions of this Act shall be made by reason only of -

(a) the nature of work assigned to her by virtue of the provisions contained in sub-section (3) of section 4; or

(b) breaks for nursing the child allowed to her under the provisions of section 11.

Dismissal during absence of pregnancy

(1) When a woman absents herself from work in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it shall be unlawful for her employer to discharge or dismiss her during or on account of such absence or to give notice of discharge or dismissal on such a day that the notice will expire during such absence, or to vary to her disadvantage any of the conditions of her service.

(2) (a) , The discharge or dismissal of a woman at any time during her pregnancy, if the woman but for such discharge or dismissal would have been entitled to maternity benefit or medical bonus referred to in section 8, shall not have the effect of depriving her of the maternity benefit or medical bonus:

Provided that where the dismissal is for any prescribed gross misconduct, the employer may, by order in writing communicated to the woman, deprive her of the maternity benefit or medical bonus or both.

(b) Any woman deprived of maternity benefit or medical bonus or both, may, within sixty days from the date on which the order of such deprivation is communicated to her, appeal to such authority as may be prescribed, and the decision of that authority on such appeal, whether the woman should or should not be deprived of maternity benefit or medical bonus or both, shall be final.

(c) Nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect the provisions contained in sub-section (1).

Nursing breaks

Every woman delivered of a child who returns to duty after such delivery shall, in addition to the interval for rest allowed to her, be allowed in the course of her daily work two breaks of the prescribed duration for nursing the child until the child attains the age of fifteen months.

Leave for illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of child, or miscarriage

A woman suffering from illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of child or miscarriage shall, on production of such proof as may be prescribed, be entitled, in addition to the period of absence allowed to her under section 6, or, as the case may be, under section 9, to leave with wages at the rate of maternity benefit for a maximum period of one month.

Leave for miscarriage

In case of miscarriage, a woman shall, on production of such proof as may be prescribed, be entitled to leave with wages at the rate of maternity benefit, for a period of six weeks immediately following the day of her miscarriage.