In terms of chapter 3 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, all types of leave are properly described and are applicable to all employees unless the employee works less than 24 hours a month.
Annual leave: An employer must grant an employee at least 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full remuneration in respect of each annual leave cycle.
An annual leave cycle is 12 months with the same employer, calculated from the employee’s commencement of employment, or from the completion of that employee’s previous leave cycle.
If a person works five days per week, 21 consecutive days are calculated as being 15 days of leave.
An employer must grant annual leave not later than six months after the end of the annual leave cycle. The employer makes the final decision as to when an employee will take leave. Leave cannot be taken during the notice period. An employer may not pay an employee instead of granting paid annual leave.
Sick leave: During every 36-month cycle of employment with the same employer, calculated from the employee’s commencement of employment, an employee is entitled to paid sick leave equal to the number of days the employee would normally work in a period of six weeks.
The first six months of employment will entitle an employee to take one day’s paid sick leave for every 26 days worked.
It is specifically to be noted that there must be proof of incapacity to enable a person to take sick leave. This can be demanded from the employee if the employee is absent from work more than two consecutive days or on more than two occasions during an eight-week period.
The employer may request a medical certificate stating that the employee was unable to work for the duration of their absence on account of sickness or injury. It must be signed by a medical practitioner.
Maternity leave: An employee is entitled to at least four consecutive months of maternity leave. Maternity leave may commence at any time from four weeks before the expected date of birth unless otherwise agreed. No employee may work for six weeks after the birth of a child unless a medical practitioner certifies that she is fit to do so.
If an employee has a miscarriage in the third trimester of pregnancy or bears a stillborn child she is entitled to maternity leave for six weeks after the miscarriage or stillbirth.
An employee must notify an employer in writing of the date on which the maternity leave is to commence and the date on which the employee is to return.
Parental leave: An employee who is a parent is entitled to at least 10 consecutive days of parental leave.
The parental leave may start when the child is born or on the date the child is adopted or when the child is placed in the care of the prospective adoptive parents.
Family responsibility leave: This applies to an employee who has been in the employment with an employer for longer than four months and who works at least four days a week for that employer.
The employer must grant an employee during each annual leave cycle at the request of the employee three days’ paid leave, which the employee is entitled to take when the employee’s child is sick or in the event of death of a spouse or life partner or the employees’ parent, adoptive parent, grandparent, child, adopted child, grandchild or sibling.
* Michael Bagraim.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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