Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed a new law stipulating how maternity leave will be granted moving forward.
The new law has removed the cap on the number of times a person can go on maternity leave under one employer. Previously, one could go for a maximum of three maternity leaves while serving one employer.
The new law has also removed the clause stipulating that a person only qualifies for fully paid maternity leave if she has been with the employer for at least one year.
Under the new law, it does not matter how long an employee has served an organisation to qualify for full salary when on maternity leave.
Fully paid maternity leave remains to be 98 days, or slightly over three months, under the new law called the Labour Amendment Act.
Child labour
In the same law, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has increased the maximum jail sentence for child labour from two to ten years to deter juvenile exploitation.
Mnangagwa also signed into law the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, which makes it illegal to lobby for economic sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Anyone found guilty of the offence risks spending up to ten years in jail, or even losing an acquired citizenship.
