Section 70: Forfeiture of maternity benefit
Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Section 70 — Governs forfeiture of maternity benefit and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: A woman who works for remuneration during the period she has been permitted by an employer to absent herself for availing the maternity benefits provided under this Chapter shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefit…
The Code was commenced in stages: section 142 had earlier commencement, S.O. 5319(E) brought the specified provisions into force from 21 November 2025, and later commencement instruments must be read with the current India Code footnotes for the remaining clauses.
Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗
Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does
Operative clauses
- A woman who works for remuneration during the period she has been permitted by an employer to absent herself for availing the maternity benefits provided under this Chapter shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefit for such period.
Provisos, explanations & qualifications
- No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.
Thresholds and timelines in the text
- No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this section text.
Actors expressly appearing in the text
Employer
Full statutory text — Section 70
70. Forfeiture of maternity benefit.—A woman who works for remuneration during the period she has been permitted by an employer to absent herself for availing the maternity benefits provided under this Chapter shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefit for such period.
How to apply this provision
- Primary statutory test — A woman who works for remuneration during the period she has been permitted by an employer to absent herself for availing the maternity benefits provided under this Chapter shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefit for such period.
- Central Rule mapping — 38. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
- Prescribed-form link recorded in the corpus — XII. Confirm the current notified form/version before filing.
- Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer.
Rules, forms and cross-references
Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping
Forms mapped
XII
Other sections cited in this text
Related Labour Hub resources
A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.
Worked example
An employee seeks the maternity-related benefit governed by this provision. Verify establishment/person coverage, qualifying service or contribution conditions, the relevant dates and the prescribed claim/notice route before calculating the benefit. Retain employment, wage, medical/claim and payment records; apply any proviso in the provision to the employee's actual facts.
Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.
Q&A — Section 70
What does Section 70 of the Social Security Code cover?
Section 70 — Governs forfeiture of maternity benefit and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: A woman who works for remuneration during the period she has been permitted by an employer to absent herself for availing the maternity benefits provided under this Chapter shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefit…
What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 70?
The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “A woman who works for remuneration during the period she has been permitted by an employer to absent herself for availing the maternity benefits provided under this Chapter shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefit for such period.” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.
Does Section 70 contain a proviso or explanation?
No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.
What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 70?
No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.
Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 70?
The current concordance maps Section 70 to Central Rule(s) 38.
Is a prescribed form mapped to Section 70?
The current corpus records: XII. Confirm the current notified version before filing or service.
Is Section 70 currently operative?
The Code was commenced in stages: section 142 had earlier commencement, S.O. 5319(E) brought the specified provisions into force from 21 November 2025, and later commencement instruments must be read with the current India Code footnotes for the remaining clauses.
Source & verification trail
Act: Code on Social Security, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗
Central Rules: Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026 ↗
Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗
Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.