New ruling gives fathers a fair start in family life

SOUTH Africa has taken a major step towards workplace equality.

- JACQUES MARITZ

The Constitutional Court's ruling now allows parents to share a total of four months and 10 days of parental leave after the birth, adoption, or surrogacy of a child.

This replaces a system that offered mothers extended maternity leave, while fathers were limited to just 10 days. The change gives fathers a real opportunity to participate in early childcare and signals a cultural shift in industries traditionally dominated by men, including mining, construction, engineering, renewable energy, and petrochemicals.

In many male-dominated sectors, workplace culture has long assumed that caregiving is the mother’s responsibility. Fathers were expected to return to work almost immediately, leaving mothers to manage the majority of early childcare. The new ruling challenges that norm.

By allowing fathers to take up to four months of leave, it not only recognises their role in the family but also gives parents genuine flexibility to decide how to divide caregiving responsibilities.

Importantly, the law applies equally to all parents, whether the child is born, adopted, or welcomed via surrogacy. This reinforces the principle that it does not matter how parents become parents; what matters is that everyone has the same opportunity to be actively involved in early childcare. Although it is theoretically possible for one father to take the full four months, most families will share the leave.