Employers
Parental leave in your workplace policies
If your employment agreements or workplace policies include parental leave provisions, these will only apply if they are better than, or the same as, those provided by law.
What you must do
If you have parental leave provisions included in your workplace policies or A written document setting out the terms and conditions of employment agreed by the employer and employee (also known as a ‘contract of service’). It can include other contractual documents and agreements made by the employer and employee. Every employee must have a written employment agreement.
- who can take parental leave and for how long
- how long the various types of leave last
- how well a job is protected during and after parental leave
- whether or not you’re going to pay the employee during their parental leave
- what procedures the employer and employee have to follow.
Creating workplace policies and procedures
If your policies and agreements do not include this information, none of the provisions will apply, even if they’re better than those in the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 (the Act).
If your employment agreements contain all of the above, then none of the provisions in the Act related to these things will apply — the provisions in the employment agreement will apply instead.
However, if an employee's spouse or partner is also taking leave, they can only take as much combined parental leave as they would under the Act, regardless of what’s in their employment agreement.
Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 - New Zealand Legislation(external link)