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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987

Extended leave

28: Sharing of extended leave

You could also call this:

“How parents can share their extended leave for a new baby”

You and your spouse or partner can share extended leave. This means you can split the total amount of time off between you. You can do this in different ways:

One of you can take all the leave, and the other doesn’t take any.

You can both take some of the leave, splitting it how you want.

One or both of you can take primary carer leave, and then you can both take some extended leave too.

You can even agree on a different way to share the leave with your employers.

But remember, you can’t take more leave than you’re allowed individually. Also, the total time off that you and your partner take together can’t be more than the maximum time allowed.

You and your partner can decide how to share the leave, as long as you follow these rules.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM120657.

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27: Period during which extended leave may be taken, or

“When you can take your extra time off work after having a baby”

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29: Extended leave may be taken consecutively or concurrently with leave taken by partner, or

“You can take extended leave before, after, or at the same time as your partner's leave”

Part 3 Extended leave

28Sharing of extended leave

  1. The maximum combined period of extended leave provided by section 26(2) may be shared between an employee and that employee's spouse or partner in any way set out in subsection (2), or in any other manner that is agreed on by the employee and the employee's spouse or partner and their respective employers, provided that—

  2. neither the employee nor the employee’s spouse or partner takes a period of extended leave that exceeds, or periods of extended leave that in total exceed, the amount of extended leave to which that person is individually entitled under section 26(1); and
    1. the total period formed by adding together all periods of extended leave taken by the employee and the employee’s spouse or partner does not exceed the maximum combined period of extended leave provided by section 26(2).

      1. The ways in which the maximum combined period of extended leave may be shared between an employee and that employee’s spouse or partner are—

      2. the employee or the employee's spouse or partner may take the full maximum combined period of extended leave, and the other not take any period of primary carer or extended leave under this Act:
        1. the employee and the employee's spouse or partner may each take a period or periods of extended leave, and neither of them take any period of primary carer leave:
          1. either the employee or the employee's spouse or partner (or both, in the case of a transfer of entitlements) may take a period of primary carer leave, and each of the employee and the employee's spouse or partner may take 1 or more periods of extended leave.

            1. Subsection (2) is subject to subsection (1).

            Notes
            • Section 28: replaced, on , by section 33 of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).