Parental Leave Register FAQs
About the register
What’s the purpose of the register?
The register exists to help expecting Kiwi parents plan for one of the most life-changing and financially challenging times of their lives. It gives everyone free visibility into the financial and non-financial ways employers support new parents.
Want to read more about what motivated Steph and the team to build the register? You can read her message here.
How was the information sourced?
The register only includes verified information, which has been collected in one of two ways:
Employer volunteered: an employer has shared the information directly with Crayon
Publicly sourced: an employer’s parental leave offering is in the public domain, and we can be reasonably confident the information is up-to-date (e.g., collective agreements, employer website, press releases, Official Information Act requests for public service departments).
We make it clear on every profile how the information has been sourced. In addition, we gave every employer who has publicly available information an opportunity to review their profile.
Can I see the underlying policy documentation?
Employers must provide it to you directly. Crayon cannot share the policy documentation because it is confidential to the employer. If there’s a specific employer you’d like information about, please get in touch with Crayon, and we can pass your request on.
How will Crayon keep the information up-to-date?
Maintaining information accuracy is core to the value we offer our community. Participating employers can contact us at any time to update their policies. We contact all employers in the database annually to check if their parental leave policy has changed.
Why can’t I sort the employers by parental leave benefits or compare employers side-by-side?
We decided not to make the register a comparative tool because smaller employers may not have the financial means to compare their policies to those of large employers. A good number of Kiwi employers only offer the statutory entitlements. To encourage every employer to join, we've been explicit that we will not rank or rate employers based on parental leave.
We’ve read many policies and realised just how different every policy is - a simple comparison wouldn’t suffice. For example, which benefit is worth more: 6 weeks of top-up or 4 weeks of full pay? It depends on your income.
How can I calculate what a policy means for my family?
If spreadsheets aren’t your thing, translating a policy into take-home pay is one of the many topics we cover in our Financial Baby Prep Program. We can help you estimate how your family income will change before, during and after parental leave so you can confidently plan.
How can I nominate an employer?
We love nominations! In fact, we’ve had more than 100 since the register launched. You can nominate an employer by completing this form.
Who created the register?
The register was built by Crayon, a Kiwi startup on a mission to reduce financial stress in the moments that matter. For many people, taking parental leave is one of the first sources of financial stress when it comes to growing their families, which is why we built the register.
Check out our Employer Hub or Parents Hub for more resources.
About parental leave
Where can I find a summary of the statutory entitlements?
I'm glad you asked. Several rules govern parental leave, from how early an employee must tell their employer to how much time they can take off. Check out our resources for Parents and Employers for our jargon-busting guides.
Can employers offer less than the statutory entitlements?
No. Legally, the statutory entitlements are the minimum standard every employer has to meet. Employers can go above and beyond, but not below.
For employers
Do you have resources that help employers with parental leave?
Yes! Check out our Employer Hub.
I’m an employer who wants to join the register - what’s the next step?
We’d love to hear from you. Please complete this form, and once you’ve shared the information, we will send you the draft profile to review before it is made public. If you’d like to chat first, schedule a time with Crayon founder Stephanie Pow.
I’m an employer with a publicly sourced profile on the register, and I’d like to provide more information. How do I do that?
We’re eager to work with you. Please complete this form, and our team will contact you shortly.
Is there any cost to join or access the register?
No, the register will be forever free. There is no cost to employers to participate or anyone to access the register.
What’s in it for an employer to join the register?
Employers typically join for the following reasons:
Attract prospective hires: signal a commitment to transparency and show the financial and non-financial ways they support expecting parents.
Make their parental leave policy easy to find: many employees simply don’t know where to look.
Present information in an easy-to-understand way: the register eliminates the need to read heavy documentation.
Provide more support to expecting employees: your profile is showcased alongside additional tools and resources we've created to help people navigate parental leave.
What if I offer the statutory entitlements only - should I still join?
Regardless of your policy, by making it available on the register, you are signalling that you care about families in the workplace by providing them with the information they need to plan their financial futures.
We celebrate the employers with a government standard policy and choose to join the register as much as those with market-leading policies because they are all committed to transparency.
I’m an employer without a parental leave policy - can I still join?
Yes! The register includes employers who don’t have formal documentation in place if the organisation offers the statutory entitlements only, or as long as any benefits are accessible to all staff who meet the eligibility requirements. We make this clear in the profile. Please complete the form here to join.
Can’t find an answer to your question? Contact us here!