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Pay contractual female employees maternity benefit for 182 days, CAT directs Chandigarh admn
Quashes Chandigarh admn’s 2013 notification allowing only 84 days of maternity leave, while terming it a violation of the Maternity Benefit Act
Coming to the aid of hundreds of female contractual employees of the UT administration, the Chandigarh Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has quashed a 2013 UT notification that allowed maternity benefit for only 84 days instead of 182, as mandated by law.
The bench, comprising members Hinha P Shah and Rakesh Kumar Gupta, held that the notification, issued by the UT personnel department on January 24, 2013, was contrary to the mandate of the Maternity Benefit Act and also discriminatory, since the regular UT employees were allowed 182-day maternity leave.
The judgment came in response to an application filed by two contractual female teachers, who had sought maternity benefit for 182 days.
The two trained graduate teachers (TGTs), Samriti Sharma and Archna, were hired as guest faculty on contractual basis against a monthly consolidated salary of ₹8,000.
In 2016, they had applied for maternity leave of 84 days and then applied for extension up to 182 days. However, they were paid maternity benefit for only 84 days.
Their counsel, Ranjivan Singh, submitted that the director, school education, Chandigarh, had rejected their claim, citing the 2013 UT notification.
When the teachers cited some judgments, they were told that the benefit of salary beyond 84 days was granted only to those who have moved a judicial forum, prompting them to approach the tribunal in July 2017.
Appearing before the tribunal, the respondents (Union of India, and secretaries of education and personnel departments, UT) had stated that the two women were paid salary for 84 days for maternity leave in accordance with the January 2013 instructions of the UT department of personnel. “The claim of the applicants for payment of salary of maternity leave over and above entitlement has been rightly rejected by the department… they do not deserve any merits...the same deserves to be dismissed,” they had submitted.
However, the tribunal observed that the administration’s policy in respect of maternity leave for contractual female employees was different at different times.
“We do not agree with the submissions of the respondents that they are entitled to salary of only 84 days of maternity leave as per the policy of the Chandigarh administration, as the said policy itself is illegal, arbitrary and in violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India,” the tribunal held.
It observed that after the said policy, when there were several issues raised before the administration, after reconsideration, UT had come up with a policy on January 30, 2018, to grant maternity leave of 182 days with pay to contractual female employees as per terms of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.
Quashing the 2013 UT notification, the tribunal directed the authorities to release the salary arrears for whole 182 days to the two applicants, along with interest from the date the said salary was due till the date of payment.
