HR Trends & Insights https://pplsolutions.co.za Empowering SMEs with Expert HR Solutions and Compliance Excellence Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:00:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://pplsolutions.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Favicon-Logo-300x300-Bigger-T-150x150.png HR Trends & Insights https://pplsolutions.co.za 32 32 Parental Leave https://pplsolutions.co.za/parental-leave/ Sun, 08 Feb 2026 09:47:14 +0000 https://pplsolutions.co.za/?p=2008

Parental Leave

On 3rd October 2025, the Constitutional Court handed down a historic judgement concerning the constitutionality of the current parental leave legislation, in a matter Van Wyk and Others vs Minister of Employment and Labour & Others, that was heard towards the end of 2024. Mr. Van Wyk’s wife was self-employed and wanted to return to work after the birth of their child. Mr. Van Wyk declared that he would be the primary care giver to their newborn child. Mr. van Wyk who was employed at the time, approached his employer seeking four months’ consecutive parental leave but was informed that he is only entitled to 10 days paternity leave. Given the potential financial constraints that they would face if his wife was to take 4 months maternity leave, Mr. van Wyk opted to take an extended unpaid leave of 6 months from his employer, which consequently affected his finances and career prospects.


They submitted that the current parental leave legislation in the BCEA and UIF Act provide greater benefits to biological mothers, than every other category of parents, in particular fathers, and that this is unconstitutional and invalid.

The Constitutional Court’s Findings are as follows:

  • The BCEA and UIF Act provisions unfairly discriminate between mothers and fathers, and between biological, adoptive and commissioning parents.
  • The denial of equal leave is unconstitutional and invalid.
  • Equality in parenting is central to dignity, gender neutrality, and the best interests of children.
  • Interim relief is necessary to ensure rights are immediately protected.

What is interim relief and when is it effective?
1. With immediate effect, any 2 parents may share a total of four consecutive months and ten days (approx. 130 days) of parental leave, regardless of whether they are birth, adoptive or commissioning parents in surrogacy.
2. There is now only Parental Leave – which replaces the previous Maternity, Parental Leave, Adoptive or Commissioning Leave.
3. Pending the enactment of remedial legislation, the impugned provisions of the BCEA are amended to read that the current allowance of 4 months, for biological mothers, should be retained.
4. Where only one of the parents is employed, such parent should be entitled to the full parental leave. In the case of a biological birth, the mother must have preference in respect of the time, currently allocated as preparation for birth up to 4 weeks, and for 6 weeks after giving birth unless certified medically fit.
5. Subject to this qualification, the parents should be entitled to share the available days as they choose.
6. Furthermore, the period of 6 weeks parental leave for a biological mother after miscarriage or still birth also still applies.
7. There should be a requirement that a father who wishes to avail himself for paternity leave, qualifies as one who has assumed the parental rights and responsibilities over the child as contemplated in the Children’s Act.

These rules apply immediately, even though Parliament has three years to update the written laws.

What does this mean for Employers?
1. Update their leave policies, employment contracts and leave systems to replace Maternity, Paternity, Adoptive and Commissioning leave with Parental Leave.
2. In terms of the BCEA Parental Leave remains unpaid leave subject to UIF benefits to those who qualify. Please note that if your organisation has a policy currently providing for PAID maternity/ paternity leave, then it might be deemed as unfair discrimination if the additional parental leave options do not qualify for the same benefits.
3. Allow employees to share leave flexibly between parents – where BOTH parents are employed by the same employer.
4. Train and inform HR staff and line managers on how to apply the new rules.
5. Inform employees that the UIF benefits are still be updated to match the new laws.
6. Avoid discriminatory practices in approving parental leave requests, as failure to do so may give rise to unfair discrimination claims under the Employment Equity Act.

Notification Requirements:

Employees must notify their employer, or both employers, in writing of their intended parental leave dates and return date, at least 4 weeks in advance or one month for adoption or commissioning parents, unless this is not possible to do so.

Further considerations:
1. Some practical issues that still need to be considered is how UIF benefits will be paid and how employers will handle cases where both parents work for different employers.
2. Furthermore, will an employer of the one of the parents to a parental relationship, be able to confirm the details of a shared parental leave agreement with the other parent’s employer in order to avoid abuse. There is no clear legal answer at this stage but it is recommended that your policy review also address this issue by including consent from your employee to do so or specifying other means of verifying the information.

This ruling brings South Africa closer to global standards on family and workplace equality. It allows parents to decide what works best for their family and encourages shared caregiving responsibilities.

If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at: Helen@pplsolutions.co.za, helen@SynergyHR.co.za, info@SynergyHR.co.za or on + 27 (0)82 716 7597.


Regards
Helen

]]> What are the 5Cs of Onboarding for Small Business? https://pplsolutions.co.za/what-are-the-5cs-of-onboarding-for-small-business/ Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:43:01 +0000 https://pplsolutions.co.za/?p=1861

What are the 5Cs of Onboarding for Small Business?

When you decide to take on a new employee, the process doesn’t end after you have selected the successful candidate from those interviewed; made the call to this individual informing them of the good news, or received their acceptance to the job offer and start date. Now it’s time to prepare for the appointment of your new recruit.

 

Before we discuss the 5Cs let's first consider the following:

  • Have you prepared a workstation for the new starter which includes a desk, chair, PC or laptop, telephone device, stationery connection to the company server, and assigned an email address?
  • Do you need to order a uniform, name badge, security access token and safety shoes?
  • Have you notified the team manager when the new starter will be joining the team?
  • Has a person been assigned to greet the new starter on their first day, conduct a tour of the workplace and facilities and introduction to the line manager?
  • Is a parking space available?
  • Has the Welcome Pack been prepared?

1. Clarity
• The Welcome pack should include – a Contract of Employment, Job Description, and new starter forms for their completion, along with any access or parking tokens if relevant, and a copy of the latest Employee Handbook.
• The Job description should be clear and provide details of the job role and what objectives they are expected to meet.

2. Compliance
• The new starter must complete all the necessary paperwork required to capture their details onto the payroll system which is linked to statutory processes.
• The Employee Handbook provides the new starter with some relevant procedures that they should know e.g. When to apply for annual leave and when their payday is.
• However, it may not provide all the details of company policies or relevant industry regulations that they should know as these details may form part of their job role. This could be done in video format through the company intranet, or a hard copy brochure or a Company Policies handbook.

3. Culture
• Wherever possible, provide details of the business ethos, values & practices to the new starter. A copy of the Company mission & vision statement is a useful tool if this is available.
• Alternatively, the business owner can meet with the new starter to provide some history of the business, competitors, why the business was established and what the current goals and targets for the business are.

4. Connection
• This is where teamwork & collaboration begins.
• It’s through daily work activities that the new starter begins to find their way and cement their place in the team.
• Everyone needs time to learn the procedures of their job role until they can work independently. Typically, it takes most new starters an average of 6 months for them to demonstrate their ability in the role and to feel at home in the team.
• People who have been in a job role for a long time, are inclined to forget the early stages of fitting in and coming to grips with the job. Impatience with a new starter can cause tension in the team and stress for the new starter. If this is not properly managed the new starter may leave resulting in the rest of the team picking up additional duties placing the entire team under pressure.

5. Check-ins
• Regular check-ins and performance reviews should be conducted monthly during the first 3 months.
• Performance Reviews and the relevant supporting documentation are critical if you have a probationary period requirement as part of your Employment Contract.
• Provide ongoing support, address concerns and adapt the process based on feedback.

Please feel free to forward any comments to helen@pplsolutions.co.za. Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing from you.

]]>