Employers
Covering parental leave and employees returning to work
You must keep an employee’s job open for them while they’re on parental leave, unless it’s a key position in your business, or the role becomes redundant.
What you must do
If an employee is taking Time an employee who is having a baby or becoming the primary carer of a child under the age of 6 can take off work to care for their child. There are 4 main types of parental leave: primary carer leave, partner’s leave, extended leave, and negotiated carer leave.
- it’s a ‘key position’ in your business
- the role becomes redundant while they are on parental leave.
Keeping an employee's job open
If you keep an employee’s job open for them, you have options around how to fill their role while they’re on parental leave. You could:
- redistribute their work among other existing employees — if you do this, think about the health and safety risks for the employees that pick up extra work, and do not overload them with work
- hire a
contractor or temporary workerA self-employed person or independent contractor who is hired to perform services under a ‘contract for services’.
- hire a temporary employee on a
fixed-term agreement. If you do this, theirEmployment that ends on a specified date or when a particular event occurs, for example, covering for parental leave or seasonal work like fruit-picking.
employment agreement must say that they’re being employed temporarily to replace someone on parental leave, and the person on leave may return to work early — if this happens, you must give them the notice period stated in their employment agreement.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.
Filling a key position
For a key position, you must be able to prove:
- the position is crucial to running your business, and
- it’s not possible to find a short-term replacement for your employee.
If an employee’s role is a key position and they want to take more than 4 weeks of parental leave, you do not have to keep the role open for them.
Instead, you can hire someone else to fill the role and give your employee a 26-week ‘period of preference’ when their parental leave ends. This means that for 26 weeks after their leave ends, if you have a vacancy for a job that’s similar to their previous job, you must offer it to them before anyone else.
If a role is made redundant
If you know about a When an employee’s employment is terminated because their position has become surplus to the requirements of the business. Employers must follow a proper and fair process and consider redeployment options before making any positions redundant.
You must not otherwise make an employee on parental leave redundant unless you can show that the redundancy situation came up after you agreed to the parental leave arrangements, and that you do not have a very similar position you could appoint them to instead.
If you have an employee who is on parental leave and their job becomes redundant while they’re on leave, you must follow a fair and proper redundancy process and try to place them into another role. You do not have to offer a period of preference if the redundancy was not known about when the employee applied for parental leave.
Staying in touch with your employees
When an employee is on parental leave, you must:
- inform them of any major changes in the workplace — particularly if those changes will have an impact on their employment
- pay them for any 'keeping in touch' hours they work while they're on parental leave.
'Keeping-in-touch' hours are also known as 'keeping-in-touch' days.
‘Keeping-in-touch’ hours
Employees can only work 'keeping-in-touch' hours while they're getting paid, or are entitled to, either:
- parental leave payments from Inland Revenue (IR), or
- preterm baby payments from IR.
Employees do not have to work 'keeping-in-touch' hours, but they can if they want to and if you agree.
They can work:
- up to 64 hours during the parental leave payment period, and
- extra hours during the preterm baby payment period (if they get this from IR) — the number of hours depends how long they get these payments for.
If the employee has transferred some parental leave or preterm baby payments to their partner, they can both share these hours. Together, they cannot work more than the maximum number of hours. Your employee should keep track of their hours and let you know about any hours their partner has already used.
'Keeping-in-touch' hours while getting parental leave payments
As long as the employee does 64 hours or less, they are not considered to be back at work.
They are considered to be back at work if they:
- do more than 64 hours of paid work while they're getting paid parental leave, or
- do paid work within the first 28 days of their child's birth.
Once they're back at work, they will not be able to get any more parental leave payments from IR. If they get any payments after they're back at work, IR can ask them to pay the money back.
Working 'keeping-in-touch' hours after parental leave payment period ends
If an employee works any 'keeping-in-touch' hours after the parental leave payment period ends, they're considered to be back at work. The payment period is usually the first 26 weeks after their child is born (or comes into their care).
This could affect them if they apply late for their parental leave payments. It means they might not be able to get parental leave payments.
To find out more about parental leave payments, including when to apply, go to:
'Keeping-in-touch' hours while getting preterm baby payments
If your employee gets preterm baby payments from IR, they can work extra 'keeping-in-touch' hours during the preterm baby payment period.
They can work a total of: 3 hours multiplied by the number of weeks they get preterm baby payments.
Example
- They get preterm baby payments for 4 weeks.
- Calculate their total number of hours: 3 hours x 4 weeks = 12 hours.
- They can work up to a total of 12 hours.
This means they can work a maximum of 12 hours at any time during the preterm baby payment period.
If they work more than the maximum number of hours
If they work more than the maximum number of hours, they're considered to be back at work. This means their preterm baby payments from IR will stop. If they get any preterm baby payments after they're back at work, IR can ask them to pay the money back.
Best practice tips before parental leave starts
Before your employee goes on parental leave, work out a plan for staying in touch with them while they’re off work.
Take your lead from them — they might be happy with a phone call once a month, or a quick email every few weeks. It will give you a chance to see how they’re getting on and let them know what’s happening at work in their absence.
When employees return from parental leave
When an employee comes back to work after parental leave, you must:
- provide breastfeeding or expressing facilities if required
- genuinely consider any requests for flexible work arrangements.
It's also good to have a chat with them about their needs, expectations and entitlements before they start back.
What your employees must do
When an employee is ready to come back to work after taking parental leave, they must let you know in writing. They need to do this at least 21 days before they’re due back, whether they’re returning on their agreed start date or want to come back to work early.
If an employee wants to come back to work earlier than planned, they must get your approval first, unless:
- they are no longer the primary carer of the child
- they have a miscarriage, or
- their child is stillborn or dies.
You can ask them to provide a medical certificate showing they’re fit to return to work before you agree to an earlier start date.
If you could not keep their original job open for them while they were on parental leave, your employee’s parental leave end date will also mark the first day of their 6 month period of preference.
If your employee has a miscarriage, stillbirth, or their infant dies
It’s important that you make your employee aware that they have options if they have a miscarriage, stillbirth or an infant they are the primary carer of dies.
They can come back to work earlier than planned without your approval, they're entitled to use their full entitlement to parental leave if they prefer, and they can use their Paid time away from work that gives an eligible employee time to grieve and to take care of matters if someone close to them dies. It can be taken at any time and for any purpose relating to the bereavement.
Your employee may appreciate an opportunity to create a return-to-work plan following a miscarriage, stillbirth or the loss of a child. They may want to talk to you about flexible working options or a phased return to work.
Confirm with your employee whether they want to keep their situation private or are comfortable with colleagues being aware of the bereavement.
Breastfeeding at work
If an employee is breastfeeding, you must:
- provide a quiet, private place for them to either breastfeed or express milk
- give them extra breaks to do so – unless you and your employee agree they will breastfeed or express during other break times
- let them know whether these breaks are paid or unpaid — they’re generally unpaid, but you can make this a paid break if you prefer. If so, note it in your workplace policies or employment agreements.
Sometimes your operating environment or resources mean it is not reasonable or practical to provide breastfeeding facilities. If this is the case, talk about it with your employee and try to agree on a solution.
Code of Employment Practice on Infant Feeding [PDF, 271 KB]
Breastfeeding in the Workplace – A Guide for Employers [PDF, 370 KB]
Flexible work requests
Your employee may ask about making changes to their usual work arrangements when they return to work. For example, they may want to look at changing their hours of work, or the days they work. They may want to work from home, or from a different office or building.
If an employee requests flexible working arrangements, you must consider the request in An underlying principle in employment law which requires employers and employees to deal with each other honestly, openly, and in a fair and timely way.
Make sure they know about any Workplace policies and procedures explain the rules and expectations in the workplace.
Considering flexible working requests
Employment Relations Act 2000 - New Zealand Legislation(external link)
If an employee chooses not to come back to work
When an employee decides not to return to work after parental leave, they must let you know in writing. They must do this at least 21 days in advance unless they have a longer notice period as part of their 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.
If they resign rather than come back to work, their last day of employment will be the day they left to go on parental leave. Any 'keeping in touch' days they worked during parental leave do not change this date. If they received payment for those 'keeping in touch' days, the payment should not be included in their final pay calculation.
Annual holiday entitlements
Make sure your employee understands their holiday entitlements and balances when they get back to work, including any relevant 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. Paid time away from work for rest and recreation.
If an employee has unused annual holidays that they were entitled to before going on parental leave, the normal calculation for annual holidays will apply, regardless of when the annual holidays are taken.
However, the rules are different if they become entitled to annual holidays:
- during parental leave, or
- in the 12 months following their return from parental leave.
The pay for these annual holidays is calculated at the rate of an employee’s 1/52 of an employee’s gross earnings for the 12 months up to the end of the last pay period before they take annual holidays (or however many weeks they’ve worked if it’s under a year). The amount an employee is normally paid weekly.
The payment rate for their holidays will increase gradually and over time their holidays will again be paid at their full value.
Best practice tips when an employee returns
When an employee returns to work after parental leave, try to be flexible while they get used to being back in the workplace. If you can work with them to ensure they have what they need to do their job, they’ll be more likely to return to work as planned and you’ll benefit from keeping trained employees in the team. Before they start back, talk to them about:
- flexible working arrangements
- breastfeeding or expressing milk at work
- any relevant workplace policies you have in place
- their
sick leave andPaid time away from work that eligible employees can take to care for themselves, their partners or children, or other dependants.
annual holidays entitlements.Paid time away from work for rest and recreation.
Best Start - Extra support for employees
Your employee may not know that they can still get financial help from the government after they return to work — even if they got paid parental leave during their time off. Make sure they know about Inland Revenue’s Best Start payments. Best Start can provide extra support if they’re working less hours or paying for childcare.