Tags: family responsibility leave, compassionate leave, frl, when do you have to give family responsibility leave, who qualifies for family responsibility leave, leave

In the Labour Bulletin on 29th October I explained how you couldn't give Family Responsibility Leave (FRL) when an employee's nanny is off sick. But do you know when you're legally obliged to give employees family responsibility leave?

You need to know these nine facts about FRL...

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Do you know the answers to these seven frequently asked maternity leave questions?

1. When are you obliged to send your employee on maternity leave?
2. Do you have to pay benefits like pension and medical aid while your employee's on maternity leave?
3. Can your employee resign while she's on maternity leave?
4. Do you have to pay your employee her full salary when on maternity leave?
5. Is maternity leave separate from annual and sick leave?
6. Can your employee request an extension to her maternity leave?
7. How soon after the birth can your employee return to work?

Knowing the answers to these and other important maternity leave questions could mean the difference between landing up at the CCMA and running your business successfully...
And that's where Your Maternity Leave Solution - All of your burning questions answered comes to the rescue...
 
Click here to read more...

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Nine points you need to know about Family Responsibility Leave
 
1. Know which employees qualify for FRL
An employee must've worked for you for more than four months, and at least four days per week to qualify.
 
2. How many days FRL do you have to give?
You have to give three days' paid FRL in each annual leave cycle - 12 months from the date they start.
 
3. You only have to give FRL in these three situations
1. The birth of a male employee's child;
2. When the employee's child is sick; and
3. The death of your employee's spouse, life partner, parent, adoptive parent, grandparent, child, adopted child, grandchild or sibling. You don't have to give FRL if your employee's spouse is sick. You also don't need to give FRL if an in-law passes away.
 
4. You can't decrease the FRL leave entitlement
You can't give less than three days FRL in a year.
 
5. You can increase the FRL entitlement
If you have a trade union, you might have to give extra days' leave in terms of a collective agreement.
 
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An ineffective leave policy could cripple your business from right under your nose
 
Did you know that not forcing your employees to take their annual leave could end up costing you anything up to R15,000 per employee?
 
That's right - employees that don't take leave could be costing you just as much as those that abuse it.
That's because any leave they accrue into the following financial year will increase the leave bill for your company and therefore severely affect your organisation in the long run.
 
That's why I'm excited to introduce you to a resource that completely takes the stress and confusion out of managing annual leave in your company. Keep reading...
 
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Four more points you need to know about Family Responsibility Leave
 
6. You must pay normal wages
You have to pay your employee the same wage for a day's FRL as you would've paid him if he'd worked.
 
7. Your employee doesn't have to take a full day
He can take a whole or part of a day.
 
8. You can ask for proof of an event
You can insist on reasonable proof before you grant leave.
 
9. FRL doesn't accumulate
FRL lapses if your employee doesn't take it, he can't carry it over to the next cycle.
 
Make sure you have all your bases covered when it comes to FRL. Turn to chapter L14: Family Responsibility Leave Policy in your Labour Law for Managers Loose Leaf to get your sample policy. Still not a subscriber? Click here.

Until next time
 
Taryn Strugnell
 
P.S Have a question about when to give Family Responsibility Leave?

• Do employees who work more than 48 hours per month qualify for family responsibility leave?
   
• How do we correctly portion family responsibility leave and sick leave for employees working for us on a 6 month contract?
   
• I know that only certain employees qualify for family responsibility leave, but what are my other obligations in terms of family responsibility leave?
   
• I have a temporary worker employed from April to June. Is she applicable for leave as well?

 Simply sign up to to ask your question today!

Author: Taryn Strugnell