If the Bill is passed into law, employers will need to ensure that their existing leave policies and procedures are in line with the proposed amendments. Employers who offer enhanced maternity leave benefits (such as paid maternity leave), will also need to consider the extent to which such enhancements can and should be extended to adoptive parents or commissioning parents.
The material proposed amendments to the BCEA are set out below:
The material proposed amendments to the UIA are set out below:
What remains to be seen is whether the passing of the Bill is a catalyst for further collective bargaining on the subject of parental leave, with employees and trade unions seeking to bargain for parental rights in excess of the statutory minimum contemplated by the Bill; and whether steps will be taken to align section 187(1)(e) of the Labour Relations Act, Act 66 of 1995 (which renders a dismissal automatically unfair if the reason for the dismissal is a woman's pregnancy or intended pregnancy) to the protections offered in the Bill by, for example, broadening the application of the section to protect employees as a consequence of their adopting or entering into a surrogacy agreement.