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Section 59: Employment of, or work by, women prohibited during certain periods

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter VI: Maternity Benefit
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 36 of 2020
Section 58 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 60

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 59

Section 59 of the Code on Social Security guarantees female employees twenty-six weeks of fully paid maternity benefit, prohibiting employers from knowingly employing women during the six weeks immediately following delivery or miscarriage.

  • Core Legal Standard: Section 59 codifies the substantive maternity protections under the Code.
  • Sub-Section (1) Provision: Under sub-section (1), no employer shall knowingly employ a woman in any establishment during the six weeks immediately following the day of her delivery, miscarriage, or medical termination of pregnancy.
  • Sub-Section (2) Provision: Under sub-section (2), every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefit at the rate of the average daily wage for the period of her actual absence.
  • Sub-Section (3) Provision: Sub-section (3) guarantees twenty-six weeks of paid maternity leave for women having less than two surviving children (and twelve weeks for women having two or more children).

It also provides twelve weeks of maternity benefit for commissioning mothers and adopting mothers who adopt a child under three months of age.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll) (2000) 3 SCC 224: The Supreme Court held that maternity benefit is an integral facet of human dignity and social justice under Articles 21, 39, and 42 of the Constitution, available to all working women irrespective of whether they are permanent, temporary, muster roll, or daily wage workers.
  • Dr. Kavita Yadav v. The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2024) 1 SCC 421: The Supreme Court held that maternity benefit under Section 59 is an absolute statutory entitlement that extends beyond the contractual tenure of fixed-term employment; an employer cannot terminate maternity benefits simply because the contract expires during the maternity period.
Legal Commentary:

Section 59 is an inviolable constitutional safeguard. Any dismissal, discharge, or disadvantageous alteration of conditions of service during maternity leave is void ab initio under Section 68, exposing the employer to criminal prosecution under Section 133.

Section 58 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 60