Every female employee shall be entitled to the benefits conferred by this Part.

113.   Absence from work in connection with confinement and maternity allowance

            (1) A female employee shall give notice to her employer of her confinement by delivering to him a written certificate signed by a medical officer or a registered nurse and midwife certifying his opinion that the employee's confinement will probably take place within six weeks immediately after the date of the certificate.

            (2) On receipt of the notice under subsection (1), the employer shall immediately permit the female employee in question to absent herself from work until her confinement and thereafter he shall not permit or require her to return to work until the expiry of six weeks immediately after her confinement.

            (3) Within 21 days immediately after her confinement, a female employee shall inform her employer of the date of the confinement by delivering to him a written certificate signed by a medical officer or a registered nurse and midwife certifying that date.

            (4) Notwithstanding subsection (2), where a female employee delivers to her employer a written certificate signed by a medical officer or a registered nurse and midwife certifying his opinion that the employee is suffering from an illness arising out of her confinement and is consequently unfit to return to work, the employer shall not permit or require her to return to work until the expiry of eight weeks immediately after her confinement.

(5) The employer shall pay every female employee whilst she is absent from work in pursuance of subsection (2) or (4) an allowance of not less than 50 per cent of the basic pay and other benefits she would otherwise have been entitled to receive,and this subsection shall apply notwithstanding the provision of any law for the time being in force relating to the determination and payment of a minimum wage:

            Provided that the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, amend this section to increase the rate of maternity allowance herein prescribed after consultation with the Minister for the time being responsible for health and with registered organizations of employers and employees.

            (6) When giving notice in accordance with subsection (1) or delivering the certificate to her employer in accordance with subsection (3), a female employee may in writing nominate another person to whom her maternity allowance shall be paid on her behalf and any subsequent payment of the maternity allowance to that person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have been made to the female employee entitled to the allowance.

            (7) For the removal of doubt, it is hereby declared that every absence from work in pursuance of subsection (2) or (4) shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, not to interrupt the employment of the female employee concerned.

            (8) Any employer who-

     (a)     contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the penalties prescribed by section 151(c); or

     (b)     knowingly permits or requires any female employee to perform any work under her contract of employment within six weeks immediately after her confinement shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the penalties prescribed by section 151(b).

            (9) Where a female employee works for another employer during any period of absence from work in accordance with the terms of this section, she shall forfeit her entitlement to maternity allowance.

114.   Payment of maternity allowance

            (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, the employer shall pay maternity allowance in three instalments as follows-

     (a)     the first, for the period of absence up to and including the day of confinement, shall be paid within 48 hours immediately after the employee delivers to her employer the certificate required by section 113(3);

     (b)     the second, for the period of absence of six weeks immediately after the day of confinement, shall be paid on the return of the employee to work or, where that period has been extended pursuant to section 113(4), on the day she would otherwise have been due to return to work; and

     (c)     the third, where there has been an extension of the period of absence pursuant to section 113(4), for the additional period of absence of two weeks, shall be paid within 48 hours immediately after the employee delivers to her employer the certificate thereby required.

            (2) Where a female employee absents herself from work on being permitted to do so pursuant to section 113(2) and dies from any cause-

     (a)     before or on the day of her confinement, the employer shall, on the death being confirmed, forthwith pay maternity allowance, as provided by section 30, for the period of absence up to and including the day immediately preceding her death:

                      Provided that no employer shall be required by this paragraph to pay maternity allowance in respect of any period longer than 42 days; or

     (b)     after the day of her confinement, the employer shall, on death being confirmed, forthwith pay, as provided by section 30-

           (i)       maternity allowance for the period of absence up to and including the day of confinement unless the first instalment of maternity allowance has already been paid pursuant to subsection (1)(a); and

          (ii)       maternity allowance or the balance of maternity allowance unpaid for the period of absence immediately after the day of confinement up to and including the day immediately preceding her death:

                               Provided that the employer shall not be required by this subparagraph to pay maternity allowance in respect of any period longer than 42 days unless there has been an extension of the period of absence pursuant to section 113(4) in which case he shall not be required by this subparagraph to pay maternity allowance in respect of any period longer than 56 days.

            (3) The employer shall pay maternity allowance for the whole period of absence from work in pursuance of section 113(2) or (4) including rest days and paid public holidays by virtue of section 99.

            (4) Any employer who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the penalties prescribed by section 151(b).

115.   Right to maternity allowance unaffected by notice of termination of contract of employment

            (1) No notice of intention to terminate her contract of employment given without good cause to a female employee within a period of three months immediately before her confinement shall affect the employer's obligations under this Part in respect of the payment to her of maternity allowance in relation to that confinement.

            (2) If any question arises as to whether, for the purposes of subsection (1), any notice of intention to terminate a contract of employment was or was not given for good cause, either the employer or employee concerned may refer the question to the Commissioner for a ruling which, subject to subsection (3), shall be binding.

            (3) Where either the employer or employee in question is aggrieved by a ruling of the Commissioner under subsection (2), he may appeal against the Commissioner's ruling to the Minister.

            (4) Every appeal under this section shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Minister not later than 30 days immediately after the day on which the ruling complained of was communicated to the appellant.

            (5) The Minister shall consider every appeal made to him under this section and shall either dismiss the appeal or allow the appeal, in which last case the Minister shall reverse the Commissioner's ruling.

116.   Prohibition of serving notice of termination of contract of employment during maternity leave

            (1) Where a female employee is absent from work in pursuance of section 113(2) or (4) or remains absent from work for a longer period as a result of an illness which a medical officer or a registered nurse and midwife has certified in writing to arise in his opinion out of the employee's pregnancy or confinement and to render her unfit to return to work, no employer shall give her notice during the period of her absence of intention to terminate her contract of employment and any such notice given to a female employee before the period of any absence from work in pursuance of section 113(2) or (4) which expires during that period or during such longer period as is hereinbefore described shall be null and void:

            Provided that this subsection shall not apply in respect of any period of absence from work which exceeds such maximum period as the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, prescribe for the purposes of this subsection.

            (2) Any employer who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the penalties prescribed by section 151(c).

117.   Female employee entitled to only one maternity allowance

            Where a female employee has more than one employer, she shall not, in respect of the same confinement, be entitled to maternity allowance from more than one of those employers and, where a female employee having more than one employer is entitled to maternity allowance, the allowance shall be paid by the employer with whom she has been longest in continuous employment.

118.   Female employee to be permitted to nurse child

(1) Where a female employee wishes to suckle her child or otherwise feed him herself, the employer shall permit her to do so for half-an-hour twice a day during the hours of work for six months immediately after her return to work, pursuant to the provisions of this Part, following her confinement and shall pay her her basic pay in respect of each such period as if it were ordinary working time:

            Provided that the two half-an-hour feeding periods may be aggregated and taken as one continuous hour, at the option of the employee and in agreement with the employer.

            (2) Any employer who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the penalties prescribed by section 151(c).

119.   When employer not liable for medical expenses

            Except in any personal capacity, no employer shall be liable to pay the medical expenses or any part of such expenses incurred by a female employee during or attributable to her pregnancy or confinement.

PART XIII
Employment of the Infirm and Handicapped (s 120)

120.   Regulations in relation to employment of infirm or handicapped persons