LAWS FOR WORKING WOMEN TO LIBERATE MYTHS
Negating the fact that women in India have successfully come a long way regardless of the stereotypical societal pressures and barriers, the discrimination at work hasn’t yet moved out of the picture.
And the knowledgeable have stated well that a major part of being literate is to be well aware of your legal rights and the laws related to you. And if you are looking to ensure that you are treated without bias at your workplace, this is the time to be fully up-to-date with your rights as an employee;
Here is a list of laws that protects women in India at their workplace, no matter what industry you are associated with;
- The Remuneration Act: in a corporate setup, every employee is entitled to equal pay, no matter what gender they are. There is a set scale followed for each level of employee and all the employees serving the level are paid equally. There cannot be discrimination followed at the workplace depending on what gender you are or even at the time of recruitment, this is against the ‘Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.’
- Sexual Harassment: There is a clear Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act that came to power in 2013 that states and provides rights to women that prevent any nature of physically unnatural activity against their will at work. Each company on mandatory terms is required to have a compliance cell that takes care of Sexual harassment issues of the female employees and gives them a provision to complain if need be.
The act includes an offence taken on activities like any unwanted contact made physically of an uncomfortable nature or against the will, demanding or pleading sexual favours in return for something or otherwise, an act of showing pornography or any other manner of action that isn’t welcome. The cell is required to take immediate and stringent actions against such acts at work and the female employee has the right to demand the details of their actions on this act in writing from the company’s cell. Several other segments are covered in this act that can be always researched and understood if required.
3. The Factories Act, 1948: This act helps the female working community in securing their rights towards health, leave benefits, safety, welfare and the right working hours. This regulation takes care of many things in their concern as stated below;
- The working hours for an employee are fixed and if the employee is expected to work beyond the working hours, they are entitled to be paid extra for the same.
- The female employees are entitled to breaks between their working schedules; these resting periods during the day in regularity cannot be taken away. The employee is also entitled to weekly off and annual leaves.
- The number of shifts that are undertaken by the female employee cannot be increased beyond a certain limit and no employee can be demanded to work after 7 pm or before 6 am. If the company is looking to change the work timing of the female employee, they must notify 24 hours before the change
- The female employees are rightfully entitled to basic utilities that concern the privacy of women at work, separately.
4. Maternity Act: The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017 states that all the women working with a company are entitled to a leave of 26 weeks during the time of pregnancy. There also is a provision of pre-natal leaves that can be increased to a span of 2 months. The duration of this leave only is decreased if the mother is having a third child, this leave helps cover the entire process for women through her pre-delivery and post-delivery period ensuring that her child receives proper nutrition and attention from the mother.
The women today in our country are remarkably changing the world with their presence and expert inputs in different fields. To ensure that the social and economic presence is celebrated and encouraged independently, the government has taken several initiatives from time to time and implemented different laws for the betterment and unbiased culture of the work environment for women.
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