South Africa: creation of leave entitlements for 2nd parents, adoptive parents, and parents of children born from surrogacy agreements

The ‘Labour Laws Amendment Act, 2018’ came into force on 01 November 2019. Inter alia the law introduces the employee’s right, irrespective of gender, to specific second parent leave, adoptive parental leave, and leave for parents having had recourse to surrogacy solutions. Voted in 2018, these amendments alter the 1997 legislation on fundamental labor conditions by introducing these three new leave periods and by eliminating the hitherto three days of ‘family responsibility’ leave.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

The amendments create 10 consecutive days of leave entitlement that can be taken from the day the child is born (for the second parent), or adopted. The amendments also intend for 10 consecutive weeks of adoption leave for children adopted under the age of two, but which cannot be added to the basic 10-day leave. However if there are two adoptive parents in the family unit then one parent can take the ten weeks adoption leave and the other can take the ten days parental leave. Finally, parents

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
France: Malakoff Humanis signs agreement for older workers offering “a la carte” end-of-career options
The social protection group Malakoff Humanis (10,500 employees in France) and trade union organisations signed a three-year agreement on 6 March dedicated to employees aged 50 and over. This...
Romania: collective bargaining stalled in the banking sector
The news. In a joint statement published on 9 March, the European trade union UNI Europa and its Romanian affiliates (FSAB and FSIF) called on Société Générale (BRD)...
France: Club Med includes “multiculturalism” in its professional equality agreement
In December 2025, Club Med and the CFTC, Unsa, and FO trade unions signed an agreement on professional equality and working conditions. It introduces measures addressing AI, pay transparency, and...
23 March 2026
Spain: business support package to tackle the economic impact of the Middle East conflict
The Spanish government approved a series of measures on 20 March to support companies facing rising energy prices. In return, these businesses are prohibited from making redundancies for economic...
23 March 2026
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
3
EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
4
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...