Overview

• In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Zukisa Tshiqi, the Constitutional Court declared statutory distinctions between maternity and paternity leave unconstitutional.
• Sections 25, 25A, 25B and 25C of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and corresponding Unemployment Insurance Act provisions were struck down.
• All parents of newborns are entitled to equal parental leave of four months and 10 days, which they may share regardless of gender, sex, colour or circumstances.
• The ruling confirms a 2023 Gauteng High Court finding and replaces the previous regime of four months for mothers and 10 days for fathers.
• The order is suspended for 36 months to allow legislative changes, the current maternity leave remains in force in the interim, and the Minister of Employment and Labour must pay the applicants’ legal costs.