Create a parental leave policy that brings your people back
From benchmarking to budgeting, Crayon helps you build a policy that’s clear, competitive, and financially sustainable—with templates and tools to make it easy.
Build with confidence in 3 simple steps
Step 1
Get feedback
Understand what your team values in a parental leave policy
Step 2
Benchmark
See what your peers are offering and get inspiration from the market
Step 3
Make the case
Use Crayon’s tools to estimate cost and compare policy options in minutes
Feedback
Design with your people in mind
Use our free resource to identify what drives engagement and loyalty at your workplace
Benchmark
Stay competitive in a changing landscape
See what organisations like yours are offering—and what’s shifting in the market.
Make the case
Use numbers you can depend on
Use our free calculators to estimate what your leave policy will cost, test different options, and make confident recommendations to your board or leadership team.
From scratch to upgrading
Real stories from leading employers who have improved their parental leave support at different stages of their business journey
Deep-dives on crafting policy
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 sets out the minimum parental leave entitlements.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment administers the Act.
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Absolutely. If enhanced paid leave isn't feasible, there are still low-cost, high-impact ways to support expecting employees. Consider:
Offering flexible return-to-work options, such as phased hours or hybrid working
Creating communication before, during and after parental leave
Supporting the use of Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) hours to ease the transition
Providing financial coaching, such as Crayon’s Financial Baby Prep Program
Even without significant financial investment, clarity, flexibility, and empathy go a long way.
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First off, congratulations to your employee!
This is often the catalyst for small or growing organisations to start thinking intentionally about parental leave. It’s also a great opportunity to involve your team in shaping a benefit that reflects your values.
Here’s where to start:
Talk to your people—what matters most to them about the parental leave experience?
Understand your legal obligations—the statutory entitlements are the baseline, not the ceiling.
Consider what else you can offer—even small enhancements can make a big impact.
Check out the New Zealand Parental Leave Register for inspiration from 300+ organisations.
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We recommend starting with three steps:
Get employee feedback using our Parental Leave Feedback Guide.
Benchmark your current or planned policy using the NZ Parental Leave Register.
Model the cost using the Parental Leave Policy Costing Tool.
You can book a free policy review with Crayon if you're looking for support.
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Use Crayon’s Parental Leave Costing Tool to estimate the annual cost of your enhanced parental leave policy.
You can adjust salary bands, uptake rates, and types of benefits to model different scenarios and make confident recommendations to leadership.
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Start with Crayon’s 2024 Parental Leave Trends Report—a data-backed overview of what more than 300 New Zealand employers are offering.
For detailed comparisons and live benchmarking, visit the NZ Parental Leave Register—a free, public database of verified policies from employers across Aotearoa.
Need more guidance?
Our parental leave experts can help you design a policy tailored to your organisation’s unique needs or answer a curly question about parental leave.
Get the top 10 questions to ask employees about parental leave. Build a better, more inclusive policy with our free feedback toolkit.