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Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987

Miscellaneous provisions

72B: Succession to spouse's or partner's entitlements

You could also call this:

“Taking over your partner's parental leave and payments if they can't use them”

If you’re an employee and you want to take parental leave, your spouse or partner might be able to take over your rights to parental leave and payments in certain situations. This can happen if you die or if your spouse or partner becomes the main person taking care of the child instead of you.

The same thing can happen for self-employed people. If a self-employed person dies or their spouse or partner becomes the main caregiver for the child, the spouse or partner can take over the rights to parental leave payments.

For your spouse or partner to take over your parental leave, they need to be an employee themselves. They must meet certain criteria for parental leave and tell their employer that they want to take over your leave.

To take over parental leave payments, your spouse or partner needs to pass a test about how much they’ve been working. They also need to stop working while they’re getting the payments, and they have to tell the government department that they want to take over the payments.

If you’re in the Armed Forces, this law applies to you too, but with one difference. Your spouse or partner can’t take over your right to parental leave, only the payments.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM121778.

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72A: Eligibility criteria based on average hours of work and allowing for periods of authorised leave, or

“How time off work counts towards your work hours for parental leave”

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72C: Date of succession to spouse's or partner's entitlements, or

“When you can start using your partner's parental leave”

Part 8 Miscellaneous provisions

72BSuccession to spouse's or partner's entitlements

  1. A spouse or partner of an employee may succeed to the employee's rights to parental leave and to a parental leave payment under this Act if, at any time after the employee gives notice to his or her employer of a wish to take parental leave,—

  2. the employee dies; or
    1. the spouse or partner becomes the person who has permanent primary responsibility for the care, development, and upbringing of the child, to the exclusion of the employee.

      1. The spouse or partner of a self-employed person may succeed to the self-employed person's rights to a parental leave payment under this Act if, at any time after the self-employed person commences parental leave,—

      2. the self-employed person dies; or
        1. the spouse or partner becomes the person who has permanent primary responsibility for the care, development, and upbringing of the child, to the exclusion of the self-employed person.

          1. The spouse or partner (the successor) may succeed to the employee’s parental leave entitlements if, and only if, the successor is an employee and—

          2. meets the criteria for parental leave under any of section 8, 17, or 23; and
            1. gives reasonable notice to his or her employer of his or her wish to succeed under this section.

              1. The spouse or partner (the successor) may succeed to the employee’s or self-employed person’s parental leave payment entitlements if, and only if, the successor—

              2. meets the parental leave payment threshold test; and
                1. stops working as an employee or a self-employed person, including by taking a period of parental leave, for the period in relation to which the parental leave payments are made; and
                  1. gives reasonable notice to the department of his or her wish to succeed to a parental leave payment under this section.

                    1. A succession under this section is treated, for the purpose of Part 7A, as if it were a transfer under section 71E, and that Part applies with necessary modifications.

                    2. Subsections (1) and (2) are subject to subsections (3) and (3A).

                    3. This section applies to a member of the Armed Forces as if the member of the Armed Forces were an employee of the Chief of Defence Force, except that a member of the Armed Forces may not succeed to the member’s spouse’s or partner’s entitlement to parental leave.

                    Notes
                    • Section 72B: inserted, on , by section 44 of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave for Self-Employed Persons) Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 20).
                    • Section 72B(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 78(1) of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).
                    • Section 72B(2)(b): replaced, on , by section 78(2) of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).
                    • Section 72B(3): replaced, on , by section 78(3) of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).
                    • Section 72B(3A): inserted, on , by section 78(3) of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).
                    • Section 72B(5): inserted, on , by section 78(4) of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).
                    • Section 72B(6): inserted, on , by section 78(4) of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 8).