Parental Leave has three
categories:
1)
Maternity leave – for the mother to cover the birth (up to 14
weeks)
2)
Paternity leave – for the father to cover the birth (up to 2
weeks)
3)
Extended leave – to look after the new-born child up to their
first birthday (up to 52 weeks less any maternity and paternity leave
taken)
When can I take Parental
Leave?
Maternity
Leave can commence up to six weeks prior to the babies due date, paternity
leave commences from the day the labour begins, and Extended Leave can
commence from the day of labour or at the end of any maternity/paternity
leave taken. Alternatively,
for any type of parental leave the date of commencement can be decided
between you and Police.
How can Parental Leave be
taken?
While
maternity and paternity leave relate specifically to the mother (maternity
leave) and father (paternity leave), this is not the case for extended
leave. One person can take
extended leave or it can be shared between both parents.
The only thing that remains fixed is the length of time. The
total amount of parental leave (whether it is just extended leave or a
combination of maternity and/or paternity leave with extended leave) taken
must be no longer than 52 weeks. Apart
from that, parents can divide parental leave in the way that best suits
them.
For
example:
Rebecca and
Wiremu Jones are
Non-Sworn members of Police. They
decide to take extended leave at the same time from the day of labour.
Rebecca takes annual leave up to the birth and then takes 16 weeks
extended leave to care for baby Aroha and Wiremu takes 14.
This equates to 30 weeks of the total 52 weeks leave allowed for
parental leave.
Susan
and Bruce Whatt
both work for Police. Susan
goes on maternity leave for three weeks (with baby Lucy being born in the
third week). This leaves 49 weeks. Susan
then goes on extended leave for 23 weeks before going back to work.
On Susan’s return to work, Bruce goes on extended leave for the
remaining 26 weeks.
Parental
leave can also be taken when the partner does not work outside the home
and is on some paid form of leave (i.e. annual or sick leave).
For
example:
Sam
Jackson works for
Police, while his partner Rebecca is at home caring for their two
children. Sam takes 6 weeks
extended leave a week after the birth to care for newborn baby Amanda,
while Rebecca focuses on the other two children.
Parental
leave must be taken in one continuous period.
This means that you must take it all at once.
You cannot have six weeks extended leave and then go back to work
for 12 weeks and then have another period of parental leave.
Can
I take Parental Leave with other Leave?
Parental
leave can be taken in combination with other leave, i.e. annual leave,
TOIL, shiftworkers leave etc.
For
example:
Elisa
takes six days TOIL, four days shiftworkers leave, five weeks annual leave
and then 46 weeks extended leave in total, and therefore has 53 weeks away
from work. Her partner,
Vinnie takes two days TOIL, three days shiftworkers leave, five weeks
annual leave and six weeks extended leave.
In total, Vinnie has 12 weeks away from work. Between them (Elisa = 46 weeks and Vinnie = 6 weeks) they
take the maximum of 52 weeks extended leave.
When do I give notice
of Parental Leave?
Advance
notice of the intention to take parental leave must be given.
Sworn members must give at least three months notice while
Non-Sworn can give a month. Please
note that male members must also provide a written assurance from their
partner that they will assume care for the new baby when giving notice of
their intention to take Extended Leave.
What
do I need to do when giving notice of Parental Leave?
The
member is required to forward the District Commander written notice and a
certificate from a registered medical practitioner certifying the
pregnancy and expected date of delivery.
The written notice will include:
-
The
name of the member’s partner and the name and address of the
employer of the member’s partner.
-
The
proposed dates of commencement and expiry of each period of leave
proposed to be taken (including the member and the member's partner).
-
An
assurance that all parental leave will not exceed 52 weeks
-
The
members last day of duty
-
Any
leave that may be taken prior to the members last day of duty
-
Whether
the member requires all or part of accrued leave to be paid out.
-
The
members forwarding address while on parental leave
-
Whether
the member wishes to maintain or suspend Government Superannuation
Fund or Police Superannuation Scheme contributions.
What
happens to my job when I am on Parental Leave?
Your
job must be kept for you until your return from parental leave unless your
position is identified as a ‘key position’.
A key position is one that is so important that a temporary
replacement is not practicable. You
must be notified of this view before you start parental leave.
If
your position cannot be held open, you are entitled to a position similar
to the job you held before parental leave at the same location or another
location within a reasonable commuting distance.
If
there is a restructuring and your position is disestablished while you are
on parental leave, the restructuring provision would apply.
Note:
‘Your job’ means the position that you were appointed to –
not a position that you have been acting in on higher duties or a position
you have been temporarily transferred to due to illness or alternative
duties during pregnancy
Members
who work on any part of a public holiday are entitled to:
1)
be paid at the rate of time and a half, and
2)
an alternative holiday.
What
happens when your partner is sick during the pregnancy or when she is in
recovery of a caesarean?
Members
can use their sick leave to care for a partner who is ill or recovering
from a caesarean, this is called “sick leave in the event of family
illness”. A medical certificate or letter needs to be produced
explaining that the partner is dependent upon the member.
The
key criteria is that:
-
That
the member's partner is a member of their household
-
The
partner is dependent upon the member to care for them
-
Is
at home (i.e. not in hospital).
Sick
leave in the event of family illness is NOT for looking after your
other children because your partner cannot look after them as she is not
feeling well. Your partner or
one of your children must be dependent on you for their care.
Government
Funded Paid Parental Leave
Paid
parental leave is a government-funded entitlement paid to eligible working
mothers and adoptive parents when they take parental leave from their
job(s) to care for their newborn or adopted child (under the age of six).
These payments go towards the loss of income that working mothers
and adoptive parents experience when they take parental leave from work to
care for a new baby or adopted child.
Paid
parental leave payments equal your normal pay (before tax) and you can
receive paid parental leave for a maximum of 14 weeks. You can transfer
your paid parental leave to your spouse or partner, as long as they also
qualify for paid parental leave from their employer or self-employment.
Who
is eligible?
You're
eligible for parental leave if you have worked for the same employer for
an average of at least 10 hours a week (including at least one hour in
every week or 40 hours in every month) in the six months or 12 months
immediately before the baby’s due date, or the date your adoption
starts.
For
more information about paid parental leave, to find out if you're eligible
and how to apply, visit the Employment Relations Service (ERS) section of
the Department of Labour website or call the Department of Labour on 0800 20 90 20.
Police
Ex-Gratia Payment
The
Police ex-gratia payment is different from the Government funded Paid
Parental Leave.
Paid
parental leave recognises the loss of income when the parent is away from
work on parental leave. The
payment aims to partly compensate working families for this loss of
income. Ex-gratia payments,
which are a common entitlement of Government employees, aim to encourage
employees to come back to work and stay in the organisation.
A
member who is entitled to parental leave of up to 52 weeks and returns to
work before or at the end of the leave and completes two months service
qualifies for a payment of up to 30 working days (i.e. six weeks) at the
rate applying to their last day of pay before they commenced parental
leave.
A
female member who completes 11 months service qualifies for a second ex-gratia
payment equivalent to 30 working days.
To qualify for the second ex-gratia payment a female member must
take at least 60 days (i.e. 12 weeks) extended leave.
If less than 60 days is taken, for example 40 days, the female
member would get 30 days in the first ex-gratia payment and 10 days for
the second ex-gratia payment.
To
receive the full payment of 30 days you must be on extended leave for at
least 30 days. If you take
less than 30 days extended leave, the payment will be for the number of
days taken. For example, if
you take 20 days extended leave, the ex-gratia payment will be for twenty
days.
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