Legal Question in Employment Law in India

Hello ,

I shall be returning to work next month after completion of 6 months of my maternity leave.i am a healthcare professional.

I read the maternity benefit act and have queries regarding nursing breaks.please help.

My usual duty timings are 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 7pm(7 hrs per day with a split). This would be convenient for nursing and i might not need additional nursing breaks at all.moreover my house is only 5 minutes away from place of work, by two wheeler.

But, my work also demands other duty timings on rotation- which is

i) a continuous 7 hrs of work(7 am to 2pm) or (2pm to 9pm) -this is for an entire week once in two months

AND

ii)a night duty once in every month for 10 hrs( 9pm to 7am the next day)

My query:

during these 7hrs and 10hrs duty at a stretch i would be the single person in charge & would not be possible to take nursing breaks- i.e. I can't go home to feed the child.

In that case can i ask my management for exempting me from continuous hrs duty till i nurse my child(upto 15months or earlier) and only work in the split timing?(8am to 12pm and 4pm to 7pm)

What should i do?

Thank you very much.please help.


Asked on 2/16/15, 10:05 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Fca Prashant Chavan Expert Edge LLP

17.02.2015

Dear Madam,

First,look at the positives - you've rejoiced being very close to your baby for a good six months at a stretch. With advanced prenatal and postnatal care, women these days resume duty within a month from their delivery; and being a healthcare professional, you know and understand it better. Having completed six months, your baby has to be on supplementary food cereals along with mother's milk intermittently. I mean it is a gradual changeover process from natural feed to solid food.

Since your place of Office is proximate to your residence, you can always engage a baby sitter at your residence who can bring your baby over to your Office, so that you can nurse your baby at a private nursing area within your Office. The law requires an enterprise or undertaking to provide a private nursing area for this purpose. If your Company has the arrangement, well and good. If they don't, you should request HR to permit you to have short breaks of 15-20 minutes so as to enable you to nourish your baby.

Regards,

Read more
Answered on 2/16/15, 8:44 pm


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