Section 12
Section 37 of the principal Act is amended—
of Employment (Amendment) Act 2012
(a)
by substituting for paragraph (1)(a) the following paragraph:
“(1)(a) Every female employee shall be entitled—
(i)
to maternity leave for an eligible period in respect of each confinement; and
(ii)
subject to this Part, to receive from her employer a maternity allowance to be calculated or prescribed as provided in subsection (2) in respect of the eligible period.”;
(b)
in paragraph (1)(aa), by substituting for the words
“paragraph (a)” the words “subparagraph (a)(i)”;
(c)
in paragraph (1)(c), by substituting for the words “paragraph
(a)
” the words “subparagraph (a)(ii)”;
(d)
by substituting for paragraph (1)(d) the following paragraph:
“(d) For the purposes of this Part—
(i)
“children” means all natural children, irrespective of age; and
(ii)
“eligible period” means a period of maternity leave of not less than sixty consecutive days.”;
(e)
by substituting for paragraph (2)(a) the following paragraph:
“(2)(a) A female employee shall be entitled to receive maternity allowance for the eligible period from her employer if—
(i)
she has been employed by the employer for a period of, or periods amounting in the aggregate to, not less than ninety days during the nine months immediately before her confinement;
and
(ii)
she has been employed by the employer at any time in the four months immediately before her confinement;”; and
(f)
by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsection:
“(4) Any employer who terminates the service of a female employee during the period in which she is entitled to maternity leave commits an offence:
Provided that for the purpose of this section, such termination shall not include termination on the ground of closure of the employer’s business.”.