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"I'm pregnant!" A happy moment in the life of any mother-to-be. But then workplace reality dawns: challenges, questions and sometimes misplaced hostility from employers. Allow MISA to give you peace of mind regarding some of the pertinent questions.
Remuneration
SAF Benefit – Good news
There is no legislation prescribing paid maternity leave. In fact, this is one of the biggest challenges women are faced with when pregnant. But there is some good news: MISA negotiated a ‘Sick, Accident and Maternity Benefit Fund Agreement’ (SAF) which is beneficial to all MISA members employed with an employer who is registered with the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI). SAF is an employer fund which means you do not pay anything to belong to SAF.
A female SAF member can claim 30% of her daily remuneration back from MIBCO for a period of17 weeks (four months).
UIF Benefit
If you have been contributing towards the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) you can also claim from the Maternity Benefit Fund. Even if you claim 30% of your daily remuneration, the Unemployment Act, 2001 prescribes that you must be paid the difference between any maternity benefit received in terms of any other law, collective agreement or contract of employment for the period of your maternity leave.
The only limitation is that you cannot receive more than the remuneration you would have received should you not be on maternity leave.
A female employee can claim unemployment benefits during Maternity Leave from the Department of Labour for a period of 17.32 weeks.
Maternity Leave
- The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) prescribe four months’ maternity leave. Luckily for employees in the Retail Motor Industry, conditions of employment are regulated by the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO), who ensure compliance with the Collective Agreements reached in the Retail Motor Industry.
- One such an agreement is the MIBCO Main Collective Agreement. The Agreement prescribes a maximum of six months' maternity leave. An employee may exercise the option to return to work earlier, though.
Maternity Leave can be taken at any time from four weeks before the expected date of birth, or 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.
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.
Minimum ten weeks; maximum six months
In essence, the MIBCO Main Collective Agreement provides for a minimum of at least ten weeks’ maternity leave up to a maximum of six months.
Don’t be confused by the time periods mentioned above, the most crucial point to take note of is that female SAF members can claim SAF Maternity Benefits from MIBCO while simultaneously claiming UIF Benefits from the Department of Labour for a 17-week period.
Maternity Leave, however, is not limited to 17 weeks, but can run over a six-month period in the Retail Motor Industry in comparison to the four months provided for those who are regulated by the BCEA.
Article by: Tiekie Mocke, Manager: Legal Department
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