The long-awaited parental leave benefit has been implemented as of 01 January 2020!

As per the much-anticipated Government Gazette (No. 42925, published on 23 December 2019), the Basic Conditions of Employment Act has now been amended to include the following parental leave provisions:

• When an employee’s child is born, but he/she does not qualify for maternity leave, he/she is entitled to ten (10) consecutive days parental leave.
• If the employee is an adoptive parent of a child who is below the age of two, he/she is entitled to ten (10) consecutive weeks adoption leave (primary care giver), or ten (10) consecutive days parental leave (secondary care giver).
• If the employee is a commissioning parent in a surrogate motherhood agreement, he/she is entitled to ten (10) consecutive weeks commissioning parental leave (primary care giver), or ten (10) consecutive days parental leave (secondary care giver) when his/her child is born.

We urge all our clients to contact us in order to amend your personnel policies and employment contracts accordingly.