No judgement here.

A Durban local claimed he was discriminated against when his request for full maternity leave was denied.

He and his partner entered into a surrogacy agreement and became parents to a newborn child in 2011.

His employers told him that the four-months’ paid maternity leave applied only to women.

That’s fair isn’t it? Women do go through birth and have to recover after heavy trauma to their bodies. But what do I know…

The man was told he would only get four days of family responsibility leave.

He took the matter to the head of human resources, which led to him being treated as an adoptive parent and being granted two months’ maternity leave.

That’s something right there. A huge win surely! But is it enough?

The man told the court this was unfair discrimination on the grounds of gender, sex, family responsibility and sexual orientation. He wanted other similar cases to benefit, two months’ pay and damages of R400 000.

The court has reserved judgment on the matter.

This is a very tricky situation for all involved. Hopefully everyone can come to a common ground at the end and sanity can prevail.

Check out the rest of the story at City Press