Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017 was passed to enhance paid maternity leave from a period of 12 weeks to 26 weeks, this is applicable to all institutions with 10 or more employee.
The act also made it mandatory for every organisation with 50 or more employees to have a creche at the workplace or within 500 metres or in the beneficiaries' neighbourhood.
A creche must have a minimum space of 10 to 12 square feet per child and there should be no unsafe places such as open drains, pits, garbage bins near the centre.
The creches should have at least one police verified guard, one supervisor, and a trained worker for every 10 children under three years of age or for every 20 children above the age of three, along with a helper.
No outsiders such as plumbers, drivers, electricians be allowed inside the creche when children are present. There should also be a grievance redressal committee for inquiring into instances of sexual abuse.
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