Your employees’ rights and responsibilities for parental leave
In New Zealand, parental leave entitlements are governed by the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987. As an employer, understanding these regulations is crucial for compliance and for providing appropriate support to your employees.
Baseline eligibility requirements
The legislation differentiates between two key roles:
Primary carer: An employee is the primary carer if they meet one of the following criteria:
They are the birth parent,
They are the spouse or partner of the birth parent, and the birth parent has transferred some or all of their entitlement to government-funded parental leave payments to the employee, or
They take permanent primary responsibility for a child under the age of six. If they have a spouse or partner, they must nominate who will be the primary carer.
Partner (also sometimes referred to as the secondary carer): An employee is a partner if they are the spouse or partner of a primary carer.
As far as the legislation is concerned, there can only be one Primary Carer at any given time during parental leave. Fewer than 5% of men have historically become the primary carer in New Zealand.
Types of parental leave
Special leave is unpaid leave of up to 10 days available to pregnant employees for pregnancy-related reasons. Examples of appropriate use include attending antenatal classes and medical appointments, such as scans or midwife visits.
Primary carer leave is a period of up to 26 weeks of job-protected leave available to an employee who becomes the primary carer of a child under 6 years of age, whether through birth, adoption, or becoming a permanent guardian.
Extended leave is an additional period of up to 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave, usually taken after primary carer leave ends, bringing the total amount of job-protected leave to 52 weeks.
Partner’s leave is unpaid job-protected leave for the partner of the primary carer. Partner’s leave is in addition to extended leave and primary carer leave.
Negotiated carer leave is a voluntary agreement between an employee and their employer that allows the employee to take time off to care for a new child when they don’t meet the standard eligibility criteria for parental leave.
Eligibility criteria depend on the employee's work history, calculated from their child’s expected due date or placement date. Employment New Zealand has created this table to help you determine who is entitled to what. We’ve provided a summary below.
Primary carer entitlements
For employees with 12 months or more service, averaging at least 10 hours a week:
10 days of unpaid special leave for pregnancy-related reasons
52 weeks of extended parental leave, including 26 weeks of primary carer leave
26 weeks of government parental leave payments
For employees with 6 months or more service, averaging at least 10 hours a week:
10 days of unpaid special leave for pregnancy-related reasons
26 weeks of primary carer leave
26 weeks of government parental leave payments
For employees with less than 6 months' service or who’ve been back at work for less than 6 months since their last parental leave:
10 days of unpaid special leave for pregnancy-related reasons
They must apply for negotiated carer leave because they are not entitled to any time off.
Important note for subsequent children: An employee can take parental leave for each child they have, but even if they’ve worked for you for years, they need to have been back at work for each child:
6 months to be eligible for 6 months of parental leave
12 months to be eligible for 12 months of parental leave
Learn more: How parental leave entitlements can be used in New Zealand.
Partner entitlements
For employees with 12 months or more service, averaging at least 10 hours a week:
2 weeks of unpaid partner leave
Ability to share the primary carer leave and extended leave up to a total of 52 weeks
For employees with 6 months or more service, averaging at least 10 hours a week:
1 week of unpaid partner leave
Ability to share the primary carer leave and extended leave up to a total of 26 weeks
Employees with less than 6 months' service or who’ve been back at work for less than 6 months since their last parental leave are not entitled to any leave.
However, they may be eligible for government parental leave payments if:
They have worked for an average of at least 10 hours a week for any 26 of the 52 weeks before their partner’s due date or placement date (reminder: this can be across more than one employer or as a self-employed person)
The primary carer transfers some or all of the entitlement to them, and
They successfully apply for negotiated carer leave.
Learn more: How parental leave entitlements can be used in New Zealand.
Special situations
Employment New Zealand details parental leave entitlements in special situations if:
They’ve been absent from work
They have a miscarriage, your baby is stillborn or dies
The business is sold, and the employer changes
They are a teacher
The baby is not staying in their care, including adoption and surrogacy
Government-paid parental leave (PPL)
Managing special circumstances
Family formation
See: Parental leave in special circumstances: A guide for NZ employers.
Job changes and protections
Employees on parental leave have significant legal protections related to their employment. These include:
Keeping in Touch (KIT) hours
In New Zealand, employees can work "Keeping In Touch" (KIT) hours while receiving government-paid parental leave. The key rules governing KIT hours:
Both the employee and employer must agree to any KIT hours worked - either one can refuse
Maximum 64 hours over the 26-week paid parental leave period
KIT hours cannot be used within the first 28 days after the child's arrival
See: Communicating with employees on parental leave: A guide to keeping-in-touch hours.
Formal process for parental leave requests
Notification
Employees must inform employers in writing about their intention to take parental leave:
At least 3 months before their due date (for births)
At least 14 days before (for adoption or permanent responsibility of a child)
Employees must separately apply for government-paid parental leave from the IRD.
Return to work considerations
Employees returning from parental leave are entitled to return to the same or similar position with the same or no less favourable terms and conditions, unless a redundancy has occurred or the position was deemed a key position when the employee applied for parental leave.
All employers must:
Provide breastfeeding or expressing facilities, if required
Genuinely consider any requests for flexible work arrangements
Avoiding common mistakes
As this guide demonstrates, parental leave legislation in New Zealand involves numerous considerations, eligibility requirements, and procedural nuances.
To help your organisation deliver a better, more compliant parental leave experience for your employees, we recommend reading our companion article: Common mistakes NZ employers make with parental leave (and how to avoid them).
For further enquiries
While we work to keep our information current, the last word lies with the relevant government agencies:
Contact Inland Revenue (IRD) about government-paid parental leave, including payment eligibility, application processes and transferring payments.
For everything else related to parental leave entitlements, contact the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) through Employment New Zealand.
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Now for the important legal part: This guide was last updated on 3 June 2025. While we strive to provide accurate information, parental leave legislation may change. Consult with an employment law specialist for specific advice related to your organisation.
Stephanie Pow
Founder & CEO of Crayon
