Crèche Facility under The Maternity Benefit (Amendment)Act, 2017

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment)Act, 2017 was introduced with the aim of regulating the employment of women in certain periods before and after childbirth and protecting the dignity of motherhood and the dignity of the new person by providing for healthy and full maintenance of women and her child at this important time. The Act came into force on April 1, 2017, and will be effective from July 1, 2017, making it mandatory for establishments having fifty or more employees to provide a cr& egrave che facility.

As per the Act, women can visit the cr& egrave che four times a day. This will enable working women to take better care of their children. Several establishments do provide cr& egrave che facilities even now but other employers are worried as there are no rules yet on how this provision will be implemented.

Since the employers have the liability to provide child care facilities, employers are either considering to have a tie-up with child- day care centers or set up an onsite facility.

Therefore, the rules should categorically specify structure on operational parameters for the governance of the cr& egrave che.

Uniform standards of sanitation, provision of nursing, cleanliness within the cr& egrave che, space for adequate ventilation, provision of washing, and change of clothing need to be adequately taken care of.

The Factories Act, 1948 provides for cr& egrave che facility through suitable rooms for the use of children under the age of six years, in every factory employing more than 20 women in the factory. The upcoming rules will settle down all confusion around this and enable effective implementation of this provision.