Employees who were not entitled to maternity leave before will now on be entitled to 10 days’ paid parental leave to be paid out of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

This follows the signing of the Labour Laws Amendment Bill into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday.

In terms of the act an employee who is a parent not covered by maternity leave will be entitled to 10 consecutive days’ parental leave when their child is born or when an adoption order is granted.