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.
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 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.
It's important to understand that legally, there can only be one Primary Carer at any given time during 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 employer for 12+ months (averaging at least 10 hours a week):
10 days of unpaid special leave for pregnancy-related appointments
52 weeks of extended parental leave, including 26 weeks of primary carer leave
26 weeks of government parental leave payments (up to $754.87 weekly before tax as of 1 July 2024)
If you've worked for your employer for 6-12 months (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 employer for less than 6 months or have been back at work for less than 6 months since your last parental leave, you must apply for negotiated carer leave because you are not automatically entitled to time off
Note: You may still be eligible for government parental leave payments if you've worked as an employee or self-employed person for an average of at least 10 hours a week for any 26 of the 52 weeks before your child arrives
Partner entitlements
If you've worked for your employer for 12+ months (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
If you've worked for your employer for 6-12 months (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
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've worked as an employee for an average of at least 10 hours a week for any 26 of the 52 weeks before your child arrives
The primary carer transfers some or all of their entitlement to you
You successfully apply for negotiated carer leave.
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, you can combine hours worked across different employers.
More guides from Crayon
The following guides are specifically for parents:
Applying for parental leave in New Zealand
Understanding your government-paid parental leave entitlements
Annual leave after parental leave
KiwiSaver during parental leave
We also have these guides for employers, which you might also find helpful:
Job protection during parental leave
Parental leave in special circumstances
Managing returns from parental leave
If you have any questions, refer to the Employment New Zealand website or speak with your HR department or manager.
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 1 May 2025.
Stephanie Pow
Founder and CEO, Crayon