The Parliament has passed Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to empower government to fix period of maternity leave and tax-free gratuity amount with an executive order.
The Bill seeks to amend Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 on two issues related to maternity leave and ceiling of gratuity payable to an employee.
Gratuity is calculated based on 15 days of wages for each year of continuous and complete service, subject to a ceiling.
The Bill allows the government to fix the period of maternity leave for female employees as deemed to be in continuous service in place of the existing 12 weeks.
The legislation will enable the government to enhance the ceiling of tax-free gratuity to Rs. 20 lakhs from the existing Rs. 10 lakhs for employees falling under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
The amendment to the payment of gratuity law comes in the backdrop of Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 enhancing the maximum maternity leave period to 26 weeks.