South Africa

Decent work for parents and young workers

Child labour

Minimum age: Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), the minimum age of full-time employment is 15, or the minimum school leave age, whichever is higher. School is compulsory until the age of 15 (completion of grade 9).
Hazardous work: Children under 18 years of age may not be employed in hazardous work. Hazardous work includes e.g., night work, underground mining, in confined spaces, in elevated positions, lifting heavy weights, or cold, hot and noisy environments, among other conditions. Children aged 15-18 may not be employed for more than 8 hours per day, and 40 hours per week (if not enrolled in school).
Light work: Employment of children under 15 may be allowed in the performance of advertising, sports, artistic or cultural activities. If enrolled in school, children may not be employed for more than 20 hours per week.

Maternity and paternity protections

Parental leave: Women are entitled to 4 months (17 weeks) of maternity leave. Fathers are entitled to 10 days of paternity leave.
Pay and benefits: Maternity leave is paid at 66% of previous earnings, subject to a maximum threshold, for workers who pay into the Unemployment Insurance Fund. However, employers are not obliged to provide paid leave for women who are not paying into the fund. Paternity leave is also paid through the Fund.
Job protection: It is automatically considered an unfair dismissal to dismiss a worker due to pregnancy, intended pregnancy, or other reasons related to pregnancy. Under the Labour Relations Act, female workers have the right to return to the same or similar position on the same terms and conditions after returning from maternity leave. The Act considers it an unfair dismissal if an employer does not allow a worker to resume work after maternity leave.

Decent work for parents:

Health and safety: The BCEA prohibits employment of pregnant and nursing workers in work that is hazardous to their health or the health of their children. During pregnancy and for the six months after childbirth, an employer must offer suitable alternative employment on terms and conditions that are not less favourable than original terms and conditions, when it is practicable for the employer to provide reasonable accommodation.
Working hours: Maximum working hours are 45 per week – 8 hours per day over a maximum of 6 days per week, or 9 hours for those working 5 days per week. There are no provisions supporting flexible working hours for parents with family responsibilities.
Breastfeeding: The Code of Good Practice on the Protection of Employees During Pregnancy and after the Birth of a Child, issued in pursuance of section 26 of BCEA, requires workers who are breastfeeding to have breaks of 30 minutes twice per day for breastfeeding or expressing milk each working day for the first six months of the child's life.

Marketplace

Marketing and advertising

Marketing to children: National laws limit children’s exposure to harmful marketing and advertising. There is a self-regulatory code, the Advertising Code of Practice, which is mandatory for members of the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa. The Code requires companies not to advertise to children in a way that might be harmful to them, including food advertising.
HFSS foods: National laws also prohibit false or misleading claims in food advertising. However, there are not yet regulations protecting children from being targeted with marketing of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods.
Breastmilk substitutes: South Africa has adopted the full provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes into national law.

Product safety

Consumer protection: Product safety is regulated by the Consumer Protection Act, which guarantees the right to safe and good quality goods. The National Consumer Commission is tasked with promoting fair business practices and consumer protection from unsafe goods and services.

Child online safety

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM): National laws prohibit child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and establish a special investigation team to identify and prosecute perpetrators of online CSAM. The government has also introduced new legislation requiring internet service providers (ISP) to report suspected child pornography to law enforcement agencies.
Access to pornography: There are no known restrictions on access to adult content in South Africa.

Community and Environment

Environment

Impact assessment: To ensure that projects minimise harmful impacts on the environment, national laws require environmental impact assessments.
Climate change: South Africa has submitted an NDC (nationally determined contribution) to the UNFCC committing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, targeting a range between 398 and 614 MtCO2eq.

Land rights

Land tenure: National laws make significant progress towards addressing indigenous and community land tenure. Laws governing land acquisition in South Africa are designed to address the discriminatory land distribution system under apartheid, under which most of the population including indigenous groups suffered from insecure land tenure. Despite a number of commitments to ensure more equitable distribution of land, South Africa continues to go through land reform debates and parliamentary processes on how to ensure that historically disadvantaged people, including indigenous people, have access to land and secure tenure.
Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC): A number of laws recognise the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for projects that may affect indigenous and local communities and their lands. For instance, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act regulates displacement due to extractives projects requires companies to consult with interested and affected parties. However, poor implementation of the act can result in disputes and lack of meaningful consultation.

Security arrangements

Private military and/or security companies: The government does not participate in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, although it has enacted a number of laws to regulate the activities of private military and/or security companies domestically and internationally.

Child rights

Education: Education is compulsory until the age of 15; however, it is not always free, which limits poor children’s ability to access education.
Healthcare: The Constitution recognises the right to health. The government maintains a public healthcare system that offers free healthcare.

Proposed indicators