Parents who don't qualify for maternity leave are now entitled to 10 days’ paid parental leave. That’s after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Labour Law's Amendment Bill into law last week. It gives working fathers more time with their newborns. The father who initially proposed the change, Henri Terblanche speaks to eNCA. Courtesy #DStv403
JOHANNESBURG - Fathers will now be entitled to 10-days leave after the birth of their newborns.
On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Labour Relations and Labour Amendment Acts.
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), which pushed for the adoption of the bill, welcomed the adoption of the bill.
The law means that workers will now have the right to 10 days paid parental and paternity leave when one’s child is born and 10 weeks adoption leave when legally adopting a child 2 years and younger.
READ: ACDP makes history in Parliament with successful paternity leave bill
The law will also see women covered by maternity leave when having a stillborn birth or third-trimester miscarriage.
Maternity leave payments will also increase.
The ACDP says the law is a victory for workers.
“The ACDP echoes calls for departments to ensure the smooth implementation on 1 January 2019,” said ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley.
