LABOUR LAWS PROTECT NEW MOTHERS

The Code of Good Practice On The Protection of Employees During Pregnancy And After The Birth of A Child (The Code) is aimed at protecting pregnant and post-pregnant employees, and obliges employers to implement a series of appropriate measures to protect pregnant or breast-feeding employees from hazards at the workplace.

Employer should note that, even where an employee who has already given birth is 100% well, the illness of the newborn baby entitles the employee to time off to look after the child. In the case of De Beer vs SA Export Connection cc t/a Global Paws (2008, 1 BLLR 36) the employee was dismissed for failing to return to work when her agreed one month maternity leave ran out. Labour Court decided that:

· an agreement entered into by the parties limiting the maternity leave to one month was null and void

· the employee was legally entitled to take the remainder of her maternity leave (4 months in total) to look after her sick babies

· the dismissal was automatically unfair

· the employer was to pay the employee 20 months’ remuneration in compensation plus the legal costs of the employee.

Due to the substantial legal protections of pregnant employees, employers cannot afford to treat them according to what the employer believes is fair. Instead, employers need to utilise the services of labour law experts to devise and implement detailed strategies for ensuring the welfare of working mothers and for minimising the effect of motherhood on workplace productivity without breaking the law.

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