The question (6 marks)
S has worked for two years in a garment unit employing forty persons. She informs the manager of her pregnancy and asks to be moved off a job that requires her to stand at a cutting table for the whole shift. The manager refuses, and a fortnight later hands her a notice of discharge timed to expire while she would be away for her confinement, saying that in any event she cannot claim anything because the unit was shut for several weeks during the year and she has not put in enough days of actual work. She gave no written notice of her claim to maternity benefit. Advise S. (6 marks)
MU Module III, problem on maternity benefit and dismissal; pack ch. 03 §7.
Plan your answer on paper before you look at the authorities — issue first, then the rule, then apply it to these facts.
It tests Unit 3 · Employees' State Insurance and Maternity Benefit of Labour Law and Industrial Relations – II.
Authorities you will need
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, s. 2(1)
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, ss. 4(3) and 13
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, s. 5(1) and (2)
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, s. 6(6)
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, s. 12(1) and (2)
- Maternity Benefit Act 1961, ss. 17, 21 and 23(1)
- Ram Bahadur Thakur (P) Ltd v Chief Inspector of Plantations
How an answer is marked
A full-marks answer names the issue in one line, states the rule with its section, cites the authority, applies it to these facts and concludes — in that order. The app's model answer for this question is written in exactly that shape, with a checklist to mark your own attempt against.