At the end of February 2026, the Department of Employment and Labour released the latest set of proposed amendments to South Africa’s labour laws. These appear in the Labour Law Amendment Bill, 2025 and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, 2025, published on 27 February 2026.
Although these proposals aren’t law yet, they outline what the government is looking to change in the coming months.
A New, More Flexible Parental Leave System
One of the most notable proposed reforms is the introduction of a single, streamlined parental‑leave system. Instead of separate categories of leave, the aim is to create a model that is more inclusive and better aligned with diverse family arrangements. According to the Department’s publication:
Under the proposed model:
- A single or sole parent would be entitled to four months of parental leave.
- Two employed parents would share four months and ten days, allocated in a manner they agree upon.
- Where parents cannot reach agreement, the leave will be split equally, with priority afforded to the birthing mother.
- Adoption leave would apply to children up to six years old, an expansion from the previous limit of two.
- Commissioning parents in surrogacy arrangements would be expressly covered.
The Framework has been designed to encourage gender equality and support a broader range of family structures.
Better Protection for Workers with Unpredictable Hours
The Bills also address the challenges faced by employees in sectors where working hours can be irregular. A new section within the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) would require employers to clearly set out and define:
- Guaranteed minimum hours.
- Maximum hours per period.
- When the employee must be available.
- How much notice must be given before a shift or before cancelling one.
If an employer cancels work without reasonable notice, they would have to pay the employee for the lost hours.
This is meant to give workers a more stable income and better clarity around their schedules.
Higher Severance Pay for Retrenchments
The Bill also includes a proposal to increase the minimum severance pay for employees retrenched for operational reasons.
Currently, the law requires employers to pay one week’s remuneration per completed year of service. The new proposal would double that to two weeks.
This aims to provide a more substantial financial safeguard to workers who lose their jobs due to restructuring.
Stronger Enforcement and Extended Protections
The Department of Employment and Labour has emphasised that the amendments are also about making sure workers — especially those in vulnerable or non‑traditional roles — receive the protections they are entitled to.
The proposed changes include updates to enforcement mechanisms to help ensure compliance and broaden the scope of who qualifies as an “employee,” so fewer workers fall through the cracks.
It’s worth remembering that these amendments are still proposals. Before anything becomes law, the bills must go through:
- A public comment period,
- Review by the Department,
- Parliamentary committee processes,
- Voting in the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces, and
- Final approval by the President.
Only once the President signs the bill will it officially become law.
Leap29 Perspective
“There’s a quiet strength in these proposed reforms, particularly in the way they centre the needs of families and workers who’ve long lived with unpredictable conditions. The redesigned parental‑leave approach brings clarity and fairness to a system that hasn’t always reflected the diverse ways families are formed. Meanwhile, the new requirements for on‑call employment introduce a level of fairness that could ease the pressure on workers whose schedules have often changed without warning. By increasing severance pay, the amendments acknowledge the hardship sudden job loss can bring, offering a more meaningful level of support.”
Simon Duff – Director Leap29
