Dads, surrogate mothers entitled to parental leave
The law providing for paid parental leave for parents of new-born children, which took effect on 1 January, has been welcomed by trade union federation Cosatu, notes BusinessLIVE.
All parents are now entitled to 10 days’ paid parental leave when their children are born.
This does not apply to mothers who have given birth, because they are already entitled to paid maternity leave. It covers fathers of new-born children and mothers of children born through surrogacy.
Parents will be entitled to take paid parental leave once a calendar year and will be required to apply for leave from their employer.
‘This is a historic and long fought for victory for workers, parents, children and families across SA,’ Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks is quoted as saying.
Parks explained that in terms of the law workers will be entitled to claim payments from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) should their employers refuse to pay them their full salary for the leave period.
The UIF will pay those workers 66% of their salary up to the earnings cap of R205,433.30 a year, as laid down in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
