1) Definitions

In this policy, unless the context indicates otherwise -

"Assembly" means the National Assembly;

"Attendance" refers to the presence of a Member at a plenary, extended public committee, sectoral parliament, a meeting of a parliamentary committee, a recognized parliamentary forum or on an approved oversight activity;

"Council" means the National Council of Provinces;

"Chief Whip" means the chief whip of the majority party in the National Assembly;

"Chief Whip of the Council" refers to the Chief Whip of the NCOP as elected in terms of Rule 13 (1) of the Rules of the NCOP or acting in that capacity;

"Committee" refers to all committees of the Assembly and the Council, joint committees, ad hoc committees, standing committees, multiparty whips' forums and their task teams, provincial whips forum, internal committees and recognized parliamentary forums;

"Family Member" refers to a relative by blood, marriage, adoption, fostering, traditional kinship or a life partner (including guardian, grandparent, and in-laws) of a Member or a person who stands in a bona fide domestic or household relationship with the Member, including situations in which there is implied some dependency or support role for the Member;

"Formal institution of education or training" is an institution registered or accredited with the Department of Education, Council on Higher Education or the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA);

"Member" with reference to -

(a) the Assembly, means a Member of the Assembly; and

(b) the Council, means a permanent delegate to the Council

For purposes of this policy the term Member, excludes Members of the Cabinet and Deputy Ministers and special delegates of the Council, Members of Provincial Legislatures and representatives of SALGA;

"Parliamentary business or work" refers to Parliamentary activities sanctioned in terms of the Constitution, the Programme of Parliament, instruction of the Presiding Officers or a decision of a House or its committees or party work sanctioned by the political party or a member and which is related to the work of Parliament;

"Party Whip" refers to a Member appointed by his or her party or recognised as such;

"Party Leader" refers to a Member appointed by his or her party or recognised as such;

"Party Work" refers to activities sanctioned by the political party of a member;

"Private business" refers to any work done, either for remuneration or not, by a Member that does not relate to his or her responsibilities as a Member but excludes political party work;

"Primary caregiver" in the context of this policy refers to a spouse or life partner who takes primary responsibility for an adopted child under the age of two years or a child born from a surrogacy agreement;

"Provincial Whip" refers to a Member designated in terms of Rule 142 (1) (c) of the NCOP;

"Recess" with reference to -

(a) a House, means a period determined as a recess by the Programme Committee of the House, or by resolution of the House, during which the business of the House is interrupted; or

(b) both Houses, means a period determined as a recess by the Joint Programme Committee, or by resolutions adopted in the Houses, during which the business of both Houses is interrupted;

"Session" refers to periods that the Assembly or Council are convened for plenary as well as periods set aside for meetings of parliamentary committees and forums and formal oversight activities of Parliament or its committees and forums, in terms of the programme of a house or the joint programme of Parliament;

"Sitting day" refers to a day on which the Assembly or the Council sits in plenary and includes committee meetings;

"spouse" means a spouse or a partner in a marriage or civil union partnership in accordance with the Marriage Act, 1961 (Act No 25 of 1961), Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No 120 of 1998) or the Civil Union Act, 2006 (Act No 17 of 2006).

"Three-line-whip" refers to instructions issued by the chief whip of a political party or his or her representative or instructions issued by the Chief Whip of the Council to attend to the business of the house, including house plenary sessions and meetings of committees;

"Working day" in terms of parliamentary work means any day of the week except

(a) Saturday and Sunday; and

(b) a public holiday in terms of the Public Holidays Act,1994 (Act 36 of 1994), and, if such a public holiday falls on a Sunday, also the Monday;