Your parental leave rights in New Zealand: A guide for employees
Becoming a parent is one of life's most significant milestones. In New Zealand, the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 provides several important entitlements to help you balance work and family responsibilities. This guide explains your rights and responsibilities when taking parental leave.
Parental leave vs. government-paid parental leave
In New Zealand, parental leave and government-paid parental leave are related but distinct entitlements, with different eligibility criteria.
Parental leave refers to the time off work you're legally entitled to take to care for your child. This includes types of leave like primary carer leave, partner leave, and extended leave.
Government-paid parental leave (often referred to as PPL) is a financial payment from Inland Revenue, not your employer. It can be taken during your time off work, but qualifying for the payment is based on your work history across any jobs, not just your current one.
This article primarily focuses on parental leave, including who qualifies, what types of leave are available, and how long you can take off work. We have also included helpful links to related guides that cover topics such as government-paid parental leave and keeping in touch hours.
Understanding key parental leave roles
The legislation recognises two distinct roles for parental leave purposes:
Primary carer: You qualify as a primary carer if:
You are the birth parent,
You are the spouse or partner of a birth parent who has transferred some or all of their paid parental leave entitlement to you, or
You take permanent primary responsibility for a child under age six.
Partner (or secondary carer): You are considered a partner if you are the spouse or partner of a primary carer.
Under the law, there can only be one primary carer at any given time during parental leave.
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.
Your eligibility and entitlements
Your specific entitlements depend on your work history, calculated from your child's expected due date or placement date.
Primary carer entitlements
If you've worked for your current employer for 12 months or more, 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
If you've worked for your current employer for 6 months or more, 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
If you've worked for your current employer for less than 6 months, or have been back at work for less than 6 months since your last parental leave
10 days of unpaid special leave for pregnancy-related reasons
You must apply for negotiated carer leave because you are not automatically entitled to time off.
Note: You can qualify for government parental leave payments without being eligible for parental leave from your employer. For example, if you've worked the required hours across multiple jobs but haven't been with your current employer long enough, you may still receive PPL even if you're not entitled to parental leave.
Partner entitlements
If you've worked for your current employer for 12 months or more, averaging at least 10 hours a week:
2 weeks of unpaid partner’s leave
Ability to share the primary carer leave and extended leave up to a total of 52 weeks
If you've worked for your current employer for 6 months or more, averaging at least 10 hours a week:
1 week of unpaid partner’s leave
Ability to share the primary carer leave and extended leave up to a total of 26 weeks
If you've worked for your employer for less than 6 months, you are not entitled to any leave from your employer.
However, you may be eligible for government parental leave payments if:
You have worked for an average of at least 10 hours a week for any 26 of the 52 weeks before your due date or placement date (reminder: this can be across more than one employer or as a self-employed person)
You apply for negotiated carer leave to take time off work to receive these payments.
Important considerations
Subsequent children: You can take parental leave for each child, but you need to have been back at work for at least:
6 months to qualify for up to 26 weeks of parental leave
12 months to qualify for up to 52 weeks of parental leave
This applies even if you've worked for the same employer for years.
Multiple employers: When calculating your eligibility for government-paid parental leave, you can combine hours worked across different employers.
Employment New Zealand details parental leave entitlements in special situations if:
You've been absent from work
You have a miscarriage, your baby is stillborn or dies
The business is sold and your employer changes
You're a teacher
The baby is not staying in your care, including adoption and surrogacy
More guides from Crayon
The following guides are specifically for parents:
We also have these guides for employers, which you might also find helpful:
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.
Now for the important legal part: The information we provide is general and not regulated financial advice for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Please seek independent legal, financial, tax or other advice in considering whether the content in this article is appropriate for your goals, situation or needs. The information in this article is current as at 3 June 2025.
Stephanie Pow
Founder and CEO, Crayon