Maternity and Work
Maternity Leave
Female employees are entitled to at 90 days of fully paid maternity leave as well as 45 days for breastfeeding while working half days. The employee has to take at least 90 days of maternity leave immediately following childbirth. The worker must give her employer at least a 14-day notice.
A period of maternity leave taken before the anticipated date of childbirth is extended by the time between the anticipated and actual date of childbirth, and the period of compulsory maternity leave following childbirth cannot be reduced for this reason. An employee who has a miscarriage or a stillborn child is entitled to a six-week leave afterwards.
Sources: §64 of the Labour Act, 2017
Income
The maternity leave for 90 days is granted with full pay. The payment is employer liability.
Sources: §64 of the Labour Act, 2017
Pregnancy Testing / Inquiry in Recruitment
According to the Labour Act, even when medical exams are required for certain hazardous/night work, an employer may not require a pregnancy test or certificate when a woman applies for employment, except where the work is prohibited or restricted for pregnant women by law or there is a recognised significant risk to the health of the pregnant woman. The 2017 law also expressly forbids HIV screening for applicants or employees.
Section 6 of the Labour Act forbids discrimination based on pregnancy or childbirth in any “work policy or practice”, including recruitment.
Section 14 of the Labour Act prohibits employers or private employment agencies from collecting personal data that is irrelevant to the inherent requirements of the position, during recruitment, employment or after termination. “Personal data” expressly includes state of health, sex lives, family lives, personal relationships, and religious/political convictions.
Sources: §5, 6, 14, and 116 of the Labour Act, 2017
Free Medical Care
The South Sudanese Constitution requires that the state shall provide maternity and child care and medical care for pregnant and lactating women. However, no statutory provisions/laws have been enacted to provide these services.
Source: §16.4.c of the Constitution of South Sudan, 2011
