LINCOLN MAJOGO

                                                                             Introduction   The Labour Amendment Bill [HB 14-21] (hereinafter referred to as the Bill] has raised employees’ hopes around the country . Several positive changes come with it. It is the changes regarding maternity leave that are the subject of today’s piece. The Bill undoubtedly makes life easier for female employees by scrapping off preconditions to claiming paid maternity leave. These changes include the ability to claim paid maternity leave more than three (3) times from an employer. Also, female employees will no longer be required to have worked for at least one year to claim paid maternity leave. A second thoughtful look at the Bill however suggests that the proposed changes may not all be rosy. The Bill may lead to unintended consequences. In philosophy, the term, “ the law of unintended consequences” refers to an act done in good faith but leads to unexpected adverse effects that may defeat th