| (1) | An employee is entitled to at least four consecutive months' maternity leave. |
| (2) | An employee may commence maternity leave— |
| (a) | at any time from four weeks before the expected date of birth, unless otherwise agreed; or |
| (b) | on a date from which a medical practitioner or a midwife certifies that it is necessary for the employee's health or that of her unborn child. |
| (3) | An employee may not work for six weeks after the birth of her child, unless a medical practitioner or midwife certifies that she is fit to do so. |
| (4) | An employee who has a miscarriage during the third trimester of pregnancy or bears a stillborn child is entitled to maternity leave for six weeks after the miscarriage or stillbirth, whether or not the employee had commenced maternity leave at the time of the miscarriage or stillbirth. |
| (5) | An employee must notify an employer in writing, unless the employee is unable to do so, of the date on which the employee intends to— |
| (a) | commence maternity leave; and |
| (b) | return to work after maternity leave. |
| (6) | Notification in terms of sub-clause (5) must be given— |
| (a) | at least four weeks before the employee intends to commence maternity leave; or |
| (b) | if it is not reasonably practicable to give notice in terms of sub-clause 6(a), as soon as is reasonably practicable. |
| (7) | No employer may require or permit a pregnant employee or an employee who is nursing her child to perform work that is hazardous to her health or the health of her child. |
| (8) | During an employee's pregnancy, and for a period of six months after the birth of her child, her employer must offer her suitable, alternative employment on terms and conditions that are no less favourable than her ordinary terms and conditions of employment, if— |
| (a) | the employee is required to perform night work, as defined in clause 15 or her work poses a danger to her health or safety or the health and safety of her child; and |
| (b) | it is practicable for the employer to do so. |
6 In terms of section 187(1)(e) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, the dismissal of an employee on account of her pregnancy, intended pregnancy, or any reason related to her pregnancy, is automatically unfair. The definition of dismissal in section 186 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, includes the refusal to allow an employee to resume work after she has taken maternity leave in terms of any law, collective agreement or her contract. An employee may claim maternity benefits in terms of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001.
