Last week the Constitutional Court handed down a landmark judgment granting mothers and fathers equal parental leave, which is a combined four months and 10 days that parents can divide between themselves.
The ruling, delivered on Friday, struck down sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) which previously gave mothers four months’ maternity leave but limited fathers to just 10 days.
The court found this arrangement unfairly discriminated based on gender and family structure.
All parents, whether biological, adoptive or commissioning through surrogacy, can now share or split the leave period as they choose.
The case was brought by Werner and Adéle van Wyk, who argued that the BCEA violated their constitutional rights to equality and dignity.
The ConCourt agreed that the BCEA and Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Act infringed on fathers’ rights to dignity by marginalising their role as parents and depriving families of the choice to balance caregiving responsibilities equally.
The ruling has resulted in a conversation about whether South African workplaces are ready to embrace this.
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