Since 2014, a Cape Town father, Henri Terblanche has been campaigning for more parental leave for fathers.  Fathers were only entitled to 3 days family responsibility leave as stated in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
 
Mr. Terblanche’s campaign was based on research done in Norway and Sweden and emphasised the benefits it would have for our society. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) then tabled a private member’s bill, relying principally on Mr. Terblanche’s campaign, to help push the process.
 
What the Bill entails
The Bill provides for 10 days paid parental leave for fathers, as well as 10 weeks consecutive leave for mothers.
The Bill was seen as a major breakthrough for same-sex couples, especially men, who were never entitled to the time needed to introduce a child into their family and bond with it. 
 
The Bill also provides for parents of adopted children under the age of 2 years.  An employee is entitled to at least 10 consecutive weeks of adoption leave, which starts on the day the adoption order is granted.
 
For a surrogate motherhood agreement, a commissioning parent is also allowed at least 10 consecutive weeks of leave, which begins on the date of childbirth.Only one parent may take adoption or commissioning parental leave (both 10 weeks). The other must take parental leave (10 days).

In November 2017 the Labour Law Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament. 

A big victory for parents
On 23 November 2018 President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Labour Relations and Labour Amendment Acts into law. 
This is a major step forward for parents in South Africa.  “For fathers to be able to claim their parental leave from UIF is a much bigger victory than it may seem” says Christelle Helling from the South African Payroll Association (SAPA).

What this means for companies
“Companies will have to revise their policies and procedures to accommodate the changes to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act” notes Helling.  These changes will have to be implemented fast because the Act comes into effect from January 2019.
 
How South Africa compares to the rest of the world
Around the world fathers’ rights to paid paternity leave varies greatly.  When compared to the rest of Africa, our new law of 10 days paid parental leave is very progressive, as the norm is between three and five days. We also compare favourably to countries such as Italy (one day, paid), New Zealand (two weeks, unpaid) and the United States of America (12 weeks, unpaid).
 
We do however still fall behind countries like India (three weeks, paid), Iran (three weeks for the first and second child, paid), Spain (15 days, paid), Finland (54 days, paid) and Iceland (3 months, paid).

However slow the progress might have been, at least we are catching up.
 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Rosa-Mari Le Roux, 060 995 6277, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
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For more information on SAPA please visit:
Website: http://www.sapayroll.co.za/
Twitter: @SAPayroll
LinkedIn: The South African Payroll Association

Authored by: Sumeshan Nair, Executive Committee Member of the South African Payroll Association (SAPA)

Many employees look forward to their annual bonus, only to be met with disappointment when a large portion of the bonus is deducted for tax.

Sumeshan Nair, Executive Committee Member of the South African Payroll Association (SAPA), says that “employees can pay extra tax on a monthly basis towards the tax that would be deducted from their annual bonus so that no tax is deducted when a person receives their annual bonus.”

“An amount is included in an employee’s monthly tax calculation to compensate for the tax on the bonus when the annual bonus is paid. This way, the employee effectively pays their ‘bonus tax’ month on month to get a full bonus payout” says Nair.

Employees can request this option from employers
One of the main reasons for companies failing to offer this option to staff is because they are unsure of how it works or how the monthly tax deductions should be calculated therefore not offering it to their employees.
This has led to employees being unaware of the option for provision for tax on bonus and thereby being hit with a large tax deduction on their annual bonus.

“If more employees request this option, then payroll professionals can request that their employers change the status quo so that this becomes a standard offering for employees,” says Nair.

Payroll vendors offer automated functionalities and training
Nair says “Different companies have different approaches on how they make provision for the tax on bonus for their employees and that the process will depend on the payroll vendor or software that is used. Leading solutions providers offer very straightforward options to automate this calculation.”

“Payroll professionals can ask their vendors whether their software incorporates these options and they can also request training from their vendor on how to use this functionality. It is important to embrace change through the digital solutions that are at a payroll professional’s disposal,” says Nair.

Nair warns payroll professionals against doing their own calculations when processing monthly tax deductions for the tax on bonuses themselves as the software that they use often has this functionality.

“It is always best to opt for an automated calculation when determining an employee’s provision for tax on bonus. The employee’s tax on bonus will be based on an individual’s marginal tax rate, so if the employee falls within the 35% tax bracket within a tax year, he will pay approximately 35% of his bonus to taxes. Instead of this happening, the tax can be automatically calculated and deducted each month so that employees absorb the smaller financial knocks throughout the tax year and get their full bonus payout,” says Nair.
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The provision for tax on bonus is calculated over the tax year and not the calendar year. Nair encourages employees to request this at the beginning of every tax year. “Employees should request it for the next tax year should they want to spread out their tax deductions throughout the year to get their full payout of their bonus,” concludes Nair.

ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT: Rosa-Mari Le Roux, 060 995 6277, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za
For more information on SAPA please visit:
Website: http://www.sapayroll.co.za/ 
Twitter: @SAPayroll
LinkedIn: The South African Payroll Association