Welcoming a new child into the world is one of life’s great joys, but for working parents it comes with practical and financial challenges. If questions like “Will we get leave and if so for how long?”, “Will it be paid leave or can we claim UIF?” and “Can we both take leave or just the mother?” are important to you, read on for some good news. 

The Constitutional Court has just brought the whole concept of “parental leave” into line with our constitutional rights. We’ll lead you through what’s changed and what hasn’t, closing with an important note for employers. 

As our annual Wedding Season kicks off, happy couples should add to their wedding plans a note on choosing surname/s. Long gone are the days when women were forced to adopt their husbands’ family names. Although women have been able to choose surnames for years, the same right has not been extended to husbands and other spouses – until now.

Read on for details of how the Constitutional Court has set out, in gender-neutral language, the family name choices available to everyone on marriage. 

The implementation of AARTO has been postponed, often at the last minute, so many times now that motorists and employers may be tempted to dismiss the latest implementation date of 1 December 2025 as yet another case of crying wolf. 

But that date, and others in 2026, have now been officially confirmed in Presidential Proclamations. It seems the time has finally come to ready ourselves for the radical changes – and for the new risks and opportunities that sooner or later await us.

“Title Deed”

A property’s “title deed” (more formally, “deed of transfer”) is the legal document that proves ownership of immovable property (land, house, sectional title unit etc). It’s issued by the local Deeds Office, and contains detailed information about the property – owner/s, size and description, purchase details, mortgage bonds, servitudes etc.