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Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987

Requirements concerning notice

38: Employer's notice in relation to return to work and preference for appointment

You could also call this:

“Employer must tell you when you can come back to work after your baby is born”

When you start your parental leave, your employer needs to tell you some important things in writing. They have 21 days from the start of your leave to do this. Here’s what they need to tell you:

They will let you know the date when your parental leave will end. They will also tell you one of two things. If they can keep your job open for you, they’ll tell you the exact day you need to come back to work if you decide to return. This will be the first working day after your leave ends.

If they can’t keep your job open, they’ll tell you about a 26-week period. During this time, if a job comes up that’s very similar to your old job, they will consider you for it before other people who apply.

If they’re keeping your job open, they’ll remind you about what you need to do under section 39. This section talks about telling your employer if you’re coming back to work or not.

Lastly, they’ll tell you about your rights under section 45. This section is about what happens if you lose your job because of your parental leave.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM120690.

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“Rules for starting primary carer leave earlier than planned”

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39: Employee's notice in relation to return to work, or

“Telling your boss if you're coming back to work after having a baby”

Part 4 Requirements concerning notice

38Employer's notice in relation to return to work and preference for appointment

  1. Within 21 days after the beginning of an employee's parental leave, the employer of the employee shall give to the employee written notice stating—

  2. the date on which the employee's parental leave will end; and
    1. either—
      1. where the employer is able to keep the employee's position open until the end of the employee's parental leave, the date on which, if the employee decides to return to work at the end of the parental leave, the employee will be required to return to work, being the date of the next working day after the date on which the employee's parental leave ends; or
        1. in any other case, the period of 26 weeks during which the employer will give the employee preference over other applicants for any position which is vacant and which is substantially similar to the position held by the employee at the beginning of the employee's parental leave; and
        2. where paragraph (b)(i) applies, the employee's obligations under section 39; and
          1. the employee's rights under section 45.

            Compare
            • 1980 No 162 s 17