Maternity leave in South Africa — rules, pay and UIF
Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, a pregnant employee is entitled to at least four consecutive months of maternity leave, starting any time from four weeks before the expected birth date. The employer is not obliged to pay for it unless the contract or a bargaining council agreement says so; instead the employee claims UIF maternity benefits of between 38% and 60% of her earnings, capped at the UIF ceiling.
Payroll Africa Editorial · SARS Payroll Compliance Team
The Payroll Africa editorial team is composed of registered tax practitioners, payroll administrators and BCEA specialists who maintain the SARS PAYE, UIF, SDL and ETI engines that power the platform. Every article is reviewed against the current SARS BRS and Basic Conditions of Employment Act before publication.
- SARS registered tax practitioners
- SAPA-affiliated payroll administrators
- BCEA and LRA compliance reviewers
Last updated 26 Aug 2026
How much maternity leave is an employee entitled to?
Section 25 of the BCEA gives every pregnant employee four consecutive months of maternity leave, regardless of length of service, hours worked or whether she is permanent or fixed-term. It is a minimum, not a maximum — an employer may offer more.
Leave may start four weeks before the expected date of birth, or earlier if a doctor or midwife certifies it is necessary. An employee may not work for six weeks after the birth unless a medical practitioner declares her fit to do so.
- Entitlement: four consecutive months, from day one of employment
- Earliest start: four weeks before the expected date of birth
- Compulsory post-birth period: six weeks, unless medically cleared
- Notice: at least four weeks in writing before leave starts
- Miscarriage in the third trimester or stillbirth: six weeks' leave
Is maternity leave paid in South Africa?
The BCEA does not require an employer to pay salary during maternity leave. Many employers pay a portion — commonly 30% to 100% for one to four months — as a contractual benefit. Check the employment contract, company policy or bargaining council agreement before deciding.
Where the employer pays part of the salary, the employee can still claim UIF for the shortfall, but the UIF benefit is reduced by what the employer pays.
UIF maternity benefits
A contributing employee can claim UIF maternity benefits for up to 17.32 weeks. The benefit is calculated on a sliding income replacement rate — 60% for the lowest earners, tapering to 38% for those at or above the UIF earnings ceiling of R17,712 per month.
Claims are lodged through uFiling or a Labour Centre. The employer must have submitted UI-19 declarations, otherwise the claim stalls.
- Replacement rate: 38%–60% of earnings, sliding by income
- Maximum period: 17.32 weeks (121 days)
- Claim window: within six months of the leave starting
- Required: UI-19, UI-2.7 (remuneration), UI-2.8 (bank details), ID, medical certificate
- Employer duty: keep monthly UI-19 declarations current
Parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave
Since 2020, an employee who is a parent but not the one taking maternity leave is entitled to 10 consecutive days of parental leave. Adoptive parents of a child under two get 10 weeks of adoption leave, and commissioning parents in a surrogacy agreement get 10 weeks of commissioning parental leave. All three are unpaid by the employer and claimable from UIF.
A 2023 High Court judgment (later confirmed on appeal) found the split between maternity and parental leave unconstitutional and gave Parliament time to amend the BCEA, so employers should expect these entitlements to become more flexible between parents.
How to run maternity leave on payroll
Unpaid maternity leave still requires a payslip in each affected month if any income, benefit or deduction runs — for example medical aid or a retirement contribution the employer continues to fund. Keep the employee active so their service is unbroken and their IRP5 stays correct.
In Payroll Africa, record the maternity leave period against the employee, set the pay treatment (unpaid, partially paid or fully paid), and the system suspends salary for those months, keeps benefit deductions running where configured, and produces the UI-19 and UI-2.7 data the employee needs for her UIF claim.
- Do not terminate and re-hire — it breaks service and leave accrual
- Continue medical aid and retirement fund deductions if the policy says so
- Annual leave keeps accruing during maternity leave
- Issue the UI-2.7 remuneration record promptly
- Confirm the return-to-work date in writing before leave ends
Frequently asked questions
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