Authored by Karen Ainslie and Raees Halim.

The Minister of Employment and Labour published the Labour Law Amendment Bill, 2025 for public comment on 26 February 2026 (the Bill). The Bill proposes wide-ranging amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (BCEA), Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA), Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001 (UIA), and the National Minimum Wage Act, 2018 (NMWA).

The proposed amendments are extensive and, if enacted, will have significant implications for employers and employees across South Africa.

Protection for on-call and zero-hours workers

A new section 9B is proposed for the BCEA, introducing minimum protections for employees engaged on "on-call", "zero-hours" or "if-and-when" contracts. Employers will be required to specify maximum working hours, availability periods, and notice periods for reporting for work and cancellation of work.

Where work is cancelled without the required notice, employees will be entitled to payment for the cancelled hours.

New parental leave framework

In line with the Constitutional Court judgment in Van Wyk and Others v Minister of Employment and Labour, the Bill proposes a single, gender-neutral parental leave framework.

All parents, whether through birth, adoption or surrogacy, will be entitled to four months' parental leave, limited to once per year. Where both parents are employed, the total entitlement will be four months and ten days, which may be shared between them. The age limit for adoption-related parental leave will also be extended to children under six years of age.

Corresponding amendments are proposed to the UIA to align unemployment insurance benefits with the new parental leave regime.

Severance pay entitlement doubled

The Bill proposes increasing statutory severance pay for retrenched employees from one week's remuneration to two weeks' remuneration for every completed year of continuous service.

Importantly, the increased entitlement will apply only to years of service commencing after the amendments come into effect.

Broader definition of "employee"

The proposed amendments introduce a wider definition of "employee" for enforcement and dispute resolution purposes. This expanded definition extends protection to individuals who perform work or provide services for another person and who are not operating an independent trade, profession or business.

Expanded harassment claims

Under the proposed amendments to the EEA, employees will be able to refer claims of unfair discrimination based on harassment to the CCMA for arbitration, not only claims relating to sexual harassment.

National Minimum Wage: deferred payments excluded

The Bill proposes that deferred payments, including retirement fund contributions, may not be taken into account when determining whether an employer complies with the National Minimum Wage Act.

Exemption for certain new businesses

Newly established businesses employing fewer than 50 employees will, under the proposed amendments, be exempt from bargaining council collective agreements dealing with terms and conditions of employment for their first two years of operation.

Simplified disciplinary procedures during probation

The Bill proposes a significant amendment to section 188 of the LRA relating to dismissals for misconduct or incapacity.

Employers would no longer be required to provide employees with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the reason for dismissal during the first three months of employment, or during a longer probation period where the longer period is reasonably justifiable.

Remedies for high earners capped

Employees earning more than R1.8 million per annum, adjusted annually for inflation, will not be entitled to reinstatement or re-employment as a remedy for unfair dismissal unless the dismissal is automatically unfair.

Compensation in unfair dismissal disputes will also be subject to a prescribed maximum cap.

Changes to large-scale retrenchment processes

The Bill proposes significant changes to disputes arising from large-scale retrenchments under section 189A of the LRA.

Where parties have participated in a facilitated process, disputes may be referred directly to the Labour Court without a further referral for conciliation. Where no facilitator has been appointed, disputes must first be referred to the CCMA for conciliation.

The Bill also proposes removing the separate process for challenging procedural fairness in retrenchments. Instead, employees and trade unions will be able to refer disputes regarding either the procedural or substantive fairness of dismissals directly to the Labour Court.

Next steps

The deadline for submitting public comments on the Bill is 28 March 2026.

The Bill contains a number of far-reaching amendments beyond those highlighted above. Employers should carefully consider the proposed changes and assess their potential impact on workforce management, employment policies and labour relations strategies.

Click here to read the full bill.