Parental Leave in 2025: What Employers Need to Know

⚖️ What changed?

In 2023, the Johannesburg High Court ruled that South Africa’s parental leave laws were unfair and unconstitutional.
Previously:

• Mothers received 4 months of maternity leave

• Fathers received just 10 days of parental leave

The court said this was discriminatory — and introduced a new, shared-leave system that took effect immediately.

📌 Parliament now has 2 years to write these changes into law, but the court ruling already applies.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What does this mean for you as an employer?

You must now allow:

• Either parent (or both) to take time off when a child is born, adopted (under 2), or placed through surrogacy

• Up to 4 months of parental leave, to be shared between the parents as they choose

• The employee to return to their job after the leave ends

💡 This applies to all employees — including domestic workers, nannies, gardeners, and caregivers.

📅 How much leave is allowed?

The total leave available is:

• 4 consecutive months, starting from the date of birth or placement

• The parents must decide how to split the leave between them

• One parent may take the full 4 months, or they may divide it (e.g. 3 months and 1 month)

🧾 Do I have to pay during parental leave?

No. You are not legally required to pay your employee during this leave.
However:

• The employee can claim UIF parental benefits

• AskMandla will help generate the correct UIF forms for this

✅ What you need to do now

1. Ask how much leave the employee plans to take

2. Record the leave using AskMandla via WhatsApp

3. Keep the job open until their agreed return date

4. Do not discriminate against the employee for taking leave

5. Let AskMandla assist with UIF paperwork

❗ What you cannot do

• You cannot refuse leave that is legally protected

• You cannot demand proof of income from the other parent

• You cannot dismiss the employee for becoming a parent or taking leave

• You must respect the new shared-leave rules, even before the final law is passed

Dismissal or unfair treatment in this context may be seen as automatically unfair dismissal.

🧠 What’s still uncertain?

This is a transitional period. Some aspects are still being finalised:

• Parliament must pass a new law by 2025/2026

• UIF systems may take time to reflect shared-leave processing

• Some forms may need manual support while updates are underway

AskMandla stays up to date and will guide you through all of this.

📲 How AskMandla helps

We:

• Log and track parental leave correctly

• Help generate UIF documents

• Answer legal questions in plain language

• Support both employer and employee throughout the process

Just message: “Parental leave help” on WhatsApp.