Surrogate mothers: How much leave do you qualify for?
Find out how the South African labour laws make provision for surrogate mothers...
In South Africa, women are given at least four months of maternity leave after giving birth.
The father is entitled to ten days paternity leave.
But what happens in the instance where the child was conceived through surrogacy? How much leave do the parents and surrogate qualify for?
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According to CCMA, commissioning parental leave relates to surrogate motherhood. This is the leave that the surrogate mother and the commissioning parents can apply for.
According to Cape Labour's website, the surrogate can apply for at least six weeks’ maternity leave envisaged by section 25(3) of the BCEA.
The commissioning parents' leave varies.
CCMA states that the two commissioning parents can choose to either take the commissioning parental leave and the normal parental leave which is given to parents who have just welcomed a baby, whether through surrogacy or adoption, as long as the child is under the age of two.
"The one who takes commissioning parental leave will be entitled to 10 consecutive weeks’ unpaid commissioning parental leave. The other parent would be entitled to 10 consecutive days’ normal unpaid parental leave," states the CCMA.
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