Parliament asked to include ‘elder care’ alongside new paternity leave laws: report
Hendri Terblanche, the businessman who successfully campaigned for stronger paternity leave rights in South Africa, has petitioned parliament to extend similar rights to people looking after elderly relatives.
According to a report by TimesLive, Terblanche is petitioning parliament to to amend the Basic Conditions of Employment Act to include “parent‚ adoptive or grandparent” in the section relating to time off work.
As an alternative, he asked for the introduction of ‘Elder Care Leave’ to allow for time to care for an aging parent who is sick or terminally ill.
Terblanche argued that elder care was just as important as childcare, and that employees should receive three days paid leave‚ or six weeks unpaid leave‚ when a parent or adoptive parent is ill.
Paternity leave rights
The Select Committee on Economic and Business Development officially adopted the Labour Laws Amendment Bill and issued it for public comment in June 2018.
Among other changes, the bill proposes parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave to employees, and provide that a collective agreement may not reduce an employee’s entitlement to parental, adoption or commissioning parental leave.
Effectively this means that new fathers would be entitled to 10 days consecutive leave after their spouse has given birth, while adopting parents (who were previously not specifically catered for), will be eligible for 10 weeks leave.
Under the proposed bill, the employee may commence parental leave on:
- The day that the employee’s child is born; or
- The date that the adoption order is granted or placed in the care of a prospective adoptive parent.
In addition, an employee must notify an employer in writing of the date on which the employee intends to commence parental leave, when they plan to and return to work after parental leave. at least one month before the employee’s child is expected to be born – or when reasonably practicable.
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