The following provisions on Family Responsibility Leave are applicable in this subsector:
26.1 | An employee, who has been in the same company's employ for at least 12 months and who works for the company for at least four days a week, is entitled to three days paid family responsibility leave a year. |
26.2 | This leave will be granted (if requested) when: |
26.2.1 | A male employee's child is born. |
26.2.2 | A spouse or life partner, parent, parent-in-law, adoptive parent, grandparent, child, adopted child, grandchild or sibling dies. |
26.2.3 | The employee's minor child and or dependent child and/or parents and/or spouse/life partner are ill; and |
(a) | minor child is defined as a child under 18 years old, |
(b) | dependant child: is a child who is in the custody of the parent, totally financially and emotionally dependant on the parent. Proof in the form of an affidavit and ID must be submitted indicating that the child is a dependent child |
(c) | a life partner means any person who is party to a permanent hetrossexual, or homosexual relationship that involves cohabitation and mutual emotional support. |
An employee may only claim family responsibility leave in respect of a life partner if he/she is unmarried and the life partner has been registered with the employer.
The onus is on the employee to deregister a previous life partner and register a new life partner when a new domestic partnership is established;
(d) | in order for such leave to be authorized, a valid medical certificate will have to be submitted confirming the seriousness of the illness and that the spouse or life partner requires the assistance of the employee |
26.3 | Family responsibility leave may be taken for a whole day or part of a day. Before granting this leave, reasonable proof of the event for which the leave is required must be furnished. lt is non-accumulative and any unused entitlement lapses at the end of the calendar year. |
26.4 | Requests for family responsibility leave for time off to attend to a child's (under the age of 13 years old) first day of school (Grade 1) will be dealt with at plant level |
26.5 | In the event of an employee having exhausted their family responsibility leave entitlement for the year in which it is due, they may lodge a request, 24 hours in advance for 1 additional day of family responsibility leave. Such additional leave will be unpaid. |