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Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987

Rights and obligations after commencement of parental leave

42: Employer's obligations in respect of remuneration and holiday pay

You could also call this:

“Your pay and holiday pay when you take time off to have a baby”

When you take parental leave, your employer doesn’t have to pay you for the time you’re away or when you’re trying to get your job back after leave.

If you earn a holiday while you’re on parental leave, trying to get your job back, or within a year of returning to work, your holiday pay will be different. Instead of your usual pay, you’ll get holiday pay based on your average weekly earnings from the year before your holiday.

This average is worked out using the rules in the Holidays Act. It’s calculated from your earnings in the 12 months before your last pay day before you take or get paid for your holiday.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM120699.

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41: Presumption that employee's position can be kept open in the case of other periods of parental leave, or

“Your job should usually be kept open when you take parental leave”

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43: Continuity of employment, or

“Your job is protected when you take parental leave and return to the same employer”

Part 5 Rights and obligations after commencement of parental leave

42Employer's obligations in respect of remuneration and holiday pay

  1. Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the employer of an employee who takes any form of parental leave in accordance with this Act shall not be obliged to pay that employee any remuneration for—

  2. any period of the employee's parental leave under this Act; or
    1. any period during which the employee is entitled under this Act, following any period of parental leave, to preference in obtaining employment with the employer.

      1. If an employee becomes entitled to an annual holiday on pay during—

      2. a period of parental leave under this Act; or
        1. a period of preference in obtaining employment; or
          1. the period of 12 months commencing with the date on which the employee returns to work after a period of parental leave under this Act or a period of preference in obtaining employment,—
              1. the employee is, despite anything in section 21 of the Holidays Act 2003, entitled to holiday pay for that holiday only at the rate of the employee's average weekly earnings (as defined in section 5(1) of the Holidays Act 2003) for the 12 months immediately before the end of the last pay period before the annual holiday is taken or paid out.

            1. Repealed
            Compare
            • 1980 No 162 s 7
            Notes
            • Section 42(2): substituted, on , by section 91(2) of the Holidays Act 2003 (2003 No 129).
            • Section 42(2): amended, on , by section 40 of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).
            • Section 42(2): amended, on , by section 18 of the Holidays Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 126).
            • Section 42(3): repealed, on , by section 91(2) of the Holidays Act 2003 (2003 No 129).