Constitutional Court Rules That Both Parents Are Entitled To Leave Days Shared Among Each Other
- The Constitutional Court made a groundbreaking ruling that changed how couples experienced time off after the birth of a child
- The Court confirmed that the difference in the parental leave entitlement between men and women is unfair and unconstitutional
- Men are also entitled to paternity leave, and the ConCourt ruled that both the mother and the father would have to share the leave days
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Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, contributed coverage of international and local social issues, including health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests, and immigration in South Africa, during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
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JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG — The Constitutional Court ruled in favour of men and women getting the same amount of paternity and maternity leave days.
According to SABC News, the court ruled on 3 October 2025 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, that both parents, irrespective of gender, sex, colour, or circumstances, are entitled to equal parental leave. The couple would have to share the four months and 10 days entitled to them.
The court also ruled that the difference between the genders in terms of leave entitlement was unfair and discriminatory. It thus ruled that sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Unemployment Insurance Fund were invalid.
Constitutional Court ruling on changing surnames
The Constitutional Court ruled in September 2025 that men are allowed to change their surnames. It confirmed a previous ruling made by the Free State High Court, which found that sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act are unconstitutional. The High Court ruled that a man can change his surname and assume his wife's surname or have a double-barreled surname.
Shortly after the ruling was made, social media was inundated with jokes. Former Black Motion Member Muder Bongza became the subject of some of these jokes on social media. Chris Excel made fun of Bongz and posted a picture of a man sitting on the floor with a blanket on their shoulders, signifying a woman during the lobola process.
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What did South Africans say?
Netizens commenting on Facebook were amused by the ruling and shared their opinions.
Reabetswe Mokoena said:
"I still say, I'm not changing nappies. I'm going to work."
Julius Kgwele said:
"I'm very happy about this. I will get leave after leave because I'm gonna impregnate different mamas."
Thabiso Taba said:
"Now it's time for legal scholars to fight for equal parental caregiving. I've seen many cases where the courts are saying it's automatically given to the mother unless she's violent towards the child. Parental caregiving must be determined by where the child will benefit more."
Baloyi Thabang said:
"It's a good step for gender equality. Our wives need our support after pregnancy."
Ncumisa Ndyenge Poro said:
"As long as everybody understands that if mom takes two months leave and goes back to work, the other two months are for Dad to look after the baby alone."
Constitutional Court rules on dual citizenship
In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of dual citizenship in May 2025. It ruled that sections of the Citizenship Act violated individuals' rights.
The court made the ruling after an application made by the Democratic Alliance. The party challenged Section 6(2) of the Act, which stated that those wishing to retain their SA citizenship must apply to the Minister of Home Affairs before obtaining foreign citizenship.
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Source: Briefly News
