Partner's leave

Who is a partner?

A spouse or partner is defined as someone, of any gender, who is in a relationship with the primary carer of a child under the age of 6 years. They must be either married, in a civil union or de facto relationship. They do not have to be the biological parent of the child.

De facto relationships - Ministry of Justice(external link)

What employees are entitled to

To take partner’s leave an employee must have been working for their employer for at least six months.

They can get 1 or 2 weeks partner’s leave depending on how long they’ve been working for their employer.

If they’ve worked for the same employer continuously for at least an average of 10 hours a week for:

• 6 months immediately before their spouse or partner’s due date or the day their spouse or partner takes permanent primary care of a child under 6 years old, they can take 1 week of unpaid partner’s leave.
• 12 months immediately before their spouse or partner’s due date or the day their spouse or partner takes permanent primary care of a child under 6 years old, they can take 2 weeks of unpaid partner’s leave.

An employee cannot take partner’s leave if:

• they’re the biological mother of the child and have transferred their parental leave payment entitlements to their spouse or partner
• they’re the partner or spouse of the child’s biological mother and she has already transferred her parental leave payment to them – as they’ll be taking primary responsibility for the child’s day-to-day care.

Parental Leave and Payment Eligibility table [PDF, 1013 KB]

Find out about how to request partner’s leave:

Requesting parental leave

Partner’s leave is unpaid

An employee cannot get parental leave payments from Inland Revenue while they’re on partner’s leave.

Some employers choose to offer paid partner’s leave and may include this in their employment agreements or workplace policies.

When can an employee take partner’s leave?

An employee needs to take their partner’s leave around the time the child comes into their care. They can start their leave any time in the 21 days before:

• the baby’s due date
• the date their partner or spouse is due to take permanent primary care of a child under 6 years old.

The latest they can start their leave is 21 days after:

• the baby’s birth date
• their spouse or partner takes permanent primary care of the child.

If the baby is discharged from hospital more than 21 days after the birth, then they can start their partner’s leave that day.

However, If the employee and their employer agree, they can start their partner’s leave at any time.

Partner’s leave ends 1 or 2 weeks after it starts depending on what the employee was entitled to.