BUSINESS NEWS - South Africa’s Department of Employment and Labour has published a new Labour Laws (Employment Laws) Amendment Bill for public comment. The proposed legislation aims to update several key labour laws to reflect changes in the modern workplace, improve access to protection for vulnerable workers, and simplify dispute processes.

George-based labour law attorney, Dawie Bezuidenhout, says the Bill proposes amendments to several existing laws, including the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Employment Equity Act, the National Minimum Wage Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act.

According to Bezuidenhout, the overall aim is to modernise labour legislation, extend protection to workers who currently fall through the cracks, reduce backlogs in labour dispute bodies, and simplify procedures.

Key proposed changes

Work conditions and severance pay

The Bill proposes new rules for workers who are “on call”, a group commonly found in sectors such as retail, hospitality and security. These workers often have irregular hours and unpredictable income.

Proposals include:

• Minimum pay guarantees for on-call employees, even if the employer does not use the scheduled shift.
• Employers must give adequate notice if a shift is cancelled.
• If a shift is cancelled without notice, the worker must be compensated.
• Severance pay for retrenched employees could increase from one week’s pay per year worked to two weeks per year.

Stronger role for dispute bodies

The Bill also seeks to expand the powers of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and bargaining councils to help resolve labour disputes faster.

Proposals include allowing the CCMA to:

• Arbitrate disputes about severance pay in retrenchment cases where the fairness of the dismissal is not contested. It is reasoned that to allow such jurisdiction would allow the CCMA to deal with all kinds of retrenchments, which would include large-scale retrenchments (more than 50 employees) and retrenchments with complex merits.
• Hear objections to compliance orders issued by labour inspectors. Convert non-complied orders into arbitration awards.
• Assist workers in enforcing arbitration awards, including dealing with sheriff fees.
• Handle disputes that involve claims under different labour laws in a single process.
• Award interest on unpaid employer contributions to benefit funds such as pension or medical schemes.

Parental leave is also addressed. Photo: Pexels

Changes to parental leave

Following a Constitutional Court ruling in Van Wyk and Others v Minister of Employment and Labour, the Bill proposes a gender-neutral parental leave system.

Key proposals include:

• Merging maternity and paternity leave into a single parental leave category.
• If both parents are employed, they can share a combined period of leave (totalling 4 months and 10 days) which they can share, take consecutively, partially or concurrently.
• This includes parents who are reliant on surrogacy.
• A single parent would be entitled to 4 months of leave.
• A birthing mother would still have priority access to leave before (up to 4 weeks) and after birth. Such mother would need to be declared fit by a medical practioner, should she wish to return to work within 6 weeks after giving birth.
• An employee who has suffered a miscarriage would be entitled to 6 weeks of leave following the delivery of the stillborn child or where the miscarriage is confirmed in the third trimester.

Workplace harassment and equality

• Amendments to the Employment Equity Act would allow employees to take workplace harassment complaints directly to the CCMA. This would apply to all forms of harassment, not only sexual harassment.
• The Bill also clarifies when disputes under the Employment Equity Law can be referred to bargaining councils and specifies the capacity those councils have in resolving such cases.

Minimum wage rules

Changes proposed for the National Minimum Wage Act include:

• Removing the requirement for separate minimum-wage reviews for farm workers and domestic workers.
• Setting clearer requirements (including skills and experience needed) for CCMA officials who preside over minimum-wage disputes.

Proposed changes affecting employers and new employees

Bezuidenhout says the Bill also proposes changes affecting dismissals and smaller businesses:

• New employees may not qualify for unfair dismissal protection during an initial probation period (first 3 months).
• The probation period could be extended if it is considered reasonable.
• Businesses with fewer than 50 employees could be exempt from bargaining-council wage agreements during their first two years of operation, although they would still have to comply with all other labour laws.

The proposed changes are open for public comment that must be submitted within 30 days after publication of the Bill (26 February 2026) to [email protected] or [email protected].

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