The recent Labour Law Amendment Bills published for public comment propose important changes to several core employment statutes, including the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Employment Equity Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, National Minimum Wage Act, and Labour Relations Act. These bills are open for public comment until the end of March 2026.
While the legislation is still progressing through the consultation process, employers should begin preparing for several developments that may require policy updates, payroll adjustments, and revised HR practices.
Below are five key changes employers should understand.
1. A New Shared Parental Leave System
One of the most significant changes is the introduction of a shared parental leave framework, following a Constitutional Court judgment that the current system unfairly differentiates between parents.
Under the proposed amendments:
- Parents of a newborn child will be entitled to four months of parental leave.
- Where both parents are employees, they will collectively be entitled to four months plus ten days, which must be shared between them.
- The entitlement applies to birth, adoption, and surrogacy arrangements.
- Adoption-related parental leave eligibility extended to children up to six years of age.
- An employee, excluding a birthing parent, is not entitled to take parental leave more than once in any twelve-month period.
This reform represents a shift toward more gender-neutral caregiving rights and will require employers to review their leave policies and HR administration systems.
2. UIF Parental Benefits Aligned with the New Leave Framework
In parallel with the changes to parental leave, the Unemployment Insurance Act will also be amended to introduce a revised structure for UIF parental benefits.
Key features include:
- Parental benefits payable at 66% of the contributor’s earnings, subject to UIF limits.
- A single parent may claim benefits for up to 17.32 weeks.
- Where two parents claim benefits, they will share 17.32 weeks plus ten additional days, with limits on the maximum benefit period each parent may claim.
The amendments also clarify:
- eligibility requirements,
- application procedures, and
- benefit entitlements for adoptive and commissioning parents.
For employers, these changes will require alignment between internal leave policies and UIF benefit administration processes.
3. Statutory Severance Pay Will Double
The proposed amendments increase the statutory severance pay entitlement in cases of retrenchment.
Currently, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires:
- One week’s remuneration for each completed year of service.
The amendment proposes to increase this to:
- Two weeks’ remuneration for each completed year of service.
Importantly, the increased entitlement will apply only to years of service completed after the amendment comes into effect, which moderates the immediate financial impact.
Nonetheless, the change could significantly increase the cost of future retrenchments and should be considered in long-term workforce planning and restructuring decisions.
4. Regulation of “On-Call” and Irregular Work Arrangements
The legislation introduces new protections for employees who only work when their employer makes work available. These arrangements are often referred to as on-call, zero-hours or “if-and-when” contracts.
Under the proposed provisions, employers will be required to specify in writing:
- Guaranteed hours of work in each period
- Maximum hours of work
- When employees must be available to work
- Notice periods for reporting for work
- Notice periods for cancellation of work
If work is cancelled without the required notice, the employer may still be required to pay the employee for the cancelled hours.
These measures aim to protect employees working in irregular or flexible arrangements from unpredictable scheduling and income instability while still allowing employers to maintain operational flexibility.
5. Expanded Definition of “Employee”
The amendments introduce a broader definition of “employee” for certain provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
The revised definition aims to ensure that individuals who:
- provide services to another person,
- are not operating an independent business, and
- are integrated into or subject to the direction of the organisation,
may fall within the scope of employee protections.
This change is intended to address the misclassification of workers and to extend protection to workers in atypical or dependent working relationships.
For employers, the amendment may have implications for contracting models, independent contractor arrangements, and compliance with employment legislation.
Chat to our labour consulting team for more information on how these changes may affect your business operations if they are gazetted into legislation.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE).