Belize - Maternity protection - 2011

23 September 2011

Social Security (Benefit) Regulations (Chapter 44s), dated 1 June 1981. As amended to 31 October 2003.

Labour Act (Chapter 297), dated 31 December 1959, as amended up to Act No.3 of 2011.

Social Security Act (Chapter 44), dated 4 October 1979. As revised at 31 May 2003.

Labour (Amendment)Act, 2005, dated 29 November, 2005. No. 42 of 2005. Amends the Labour Act, chapter 297 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000-2003.

Labour (Maternity Protection) Regulations (Chapter 297), as revised to 31 October 2003.

A woman in any public, private industrial, commercial undertaking, or in any branch thereof, or in any agricultural undertaking or any branch thereof is entitled to maternity leave.

Employed by the same employer for a period of not less than 150 days during the 12 months preceding her confinement.

All applications for maternity leave must be submitted at least 10 weeks prior to the worker’s expected date of confinement and must be accompanied by a medical certificate from a qualified medical practiioner stating the expected date of confinement.

2 weeks before and 7 weeks after the expected date of confinement are mandatory.

14 weeks (seven weeks before and seven weeks after confinement)

Every woman may be deemed to be absent from work as a result of illness arising out of her pregnancy for a maximum period of 30 days.

Relevant provisions on related types of leave have not been identified.

Relevant provisions on right to part-time work have not been identified.

Insured women are entitled to maternity allowance from social security if they satisfy the qualifying conditions. Subject to this Act, every person who on or after the appointed day, being over the age of fourteen years and under the age of sixty-five years, is employed in insurable employment shall become insured under this Act.
Women who are not entitled to receive maternity allowance from social security, meaning they are not insured, shall be paid from the employer.

Maternity allowance, from Social Security, shall only be payable to an insured woman if she has made a specific amount of contributions.
A claim for maternity allowance shall be accompanied by a medical certificate stating the expected date of confinement (in the case of a claim made prior to the date of confinement) or by a medical certificate or a certificate issued by a registered midwife, stating the actual date of confinement (in the case of a claim made subsequent to the date of confinement).
Women who are not entitled to receive maternity allowance from social security shall receive payment from her employer, provided that during the 12 months preceding her confinement she was employed by the same employer for a period of no less than 150 days.

Maternity allowance shall be payable to an insured woman for a period starting from a date no earlier than 7 weeks before the expected date of confinement and continuing until the end of 14 weeks or seven weeks from the date on which the confinement occurs, whichever comes later.

Employer’s providing maternity benefits will pay their employees during the period up to the date of birth and the date of birth (7 weeks), and the period following confinement (7 weeks).

100%

In the case where a female is entitled to maternity benefits under the Labour Act and the Social Security Act, she shall receive maternity benefits from Social Security and in addition she is entitled to be paid by her employer the difference, if any, between her full pay and her Social Security benefits.

Social Security or employer. Employers finance allowances for women who are not entitled to receive benefits from social security.

A maternity grant of 300 dollars, from the Social Security, is payable to an insured woman if she has paid 50 contributions since the appointed day and 25 contributions have been paid in the 50 weeks immediately preceding the week in which the confinement occurs.

An insured male worker is entitled to a maternity grant, if his wife is not entitled to such grant, and if he satisfies the conditions for the entitlement to this benefit.

The same conditions as for maternity grant to be enjoyed by an insured female worker.

The insured male worker shall be entitled to enjoy maternity grant only once in a contribution year.

The amount of maternity grant shall be three hundred dollars

No employer shall be liable to pay medical expenses or any part of such expenses which have been incurred by a female worker during or attributable to her pregnancy or confinement.

A woman shall not be employed during the night (between 10 p.m. and 5. a.m.), in a public or private industrial undertaking. However, this prohibition does not apply to: (a) women holding responsible positions of a managerial or technical character; (b) women employed in health and welfare services who are not ordinarily engaged in manual work; (c) an industrial undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed; (d) an industrial undertaking where there occurs an interruption of work that was impossible to foresee, which is not of a recurring character, and which is approved as such by the Commissioner; and (e) in a case where the work has to do with raw materials which are subject to rapid deterioration; therefore, work during the night is necessary to preserve such materials from loss and the permission of the Commissioner to perform such work during the night has been obtained.

Where a woman is in receipt of maternity allowance under the Social Security Act or is absent from her work during the 6 weeks before the expected date of confinement and 6 weeks following her confinement, or remains absent from her work for a longer period as a result of illness certified by a qualified medical practitioner that arose out of her pregnancy or confinement and rendering her unfit for work, no employer shall, unless her absence has exceeded a maximum period of 30 days, give notice of dismissal during such absence or give her notice of dismissal at such time that the notice would expire during such absence.

Within 21 days of the date of dismissal or wrongful termination, every employee shall have the right to file a complaint to the Tribunal through the Commissioner, and if the worker’s complaint is proved, she shall be awarded with the reinstatement or/and economic compensation.

In cases of unfair dismissal or wrongfully termination, the legislation states that the worker shall file burden of the proof before the Tribunal through a complaint.