Many women are treated unfairly — or even fired — after revealing the news of their pregnancy. As long as a pregnant woman is able to perform the major functions of her job, either not hiring her or firing her because she is pregnant is against the law. It’s against the law to dock her pay or demote her to a lesser position because of pregnancy. It’s also against the law to hold back benefits for pregnancy because a woman is not married. All are forms of pregnancy discrimination, and all are illegal.

Pregnancy is protected under the law and employers must treat women who are pregnant in the same manner as other job applicants or employees with similar abilities or limitations.

According to the Maternity Benefit Amendment Bill, 2017, female employees are now entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two deliveries and 12 weeks for subsequent deliveries. The employee should have worked for at least 80 days in the 12 months preceding the expected delivery date. Here is an explanation of a woman’s eligibility and entitlement for maternity leave and other related considerations.