# Covering parental leave and employees returning to work Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/parental-leave/managing-parental-leave-as-an-employer/covering-parental-leave-and-employees-returning-to-work Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Leave and holidays Parental leave Managing parental leave as an employer Covering parental leave and employees returning to work Managing parental leave as an employer Parental leave Managing parental leave as an employer When an employee requests parental leave Parental leave in your workplace policies Covering parental leave and employees returning to work Taking parental leave Types of parental leave If you’re self-employed Employers Covering parental leave and employees returning to work You must keep an employee’s job open for them while they’re on parental leave, unless it’s a key position in your business, or the role becomes redundant. What you must do If an employee is taking parental leave Time an employee who is having a baby or becoming the primary carer of a child under the age of 6 can take off work to care for their child. There are 4 main types of parental leave: primary carer leave, partner’s leave, extended leave, and negotiated carer leave. for 4 weeks or less, you must keep their job open for them. If they’re taking longer than 4 weeks, you must keep their job open for them unless: it’s a ‘key position’ in your business the role becomes redundant while they are on parental leave. Keeping an employee's job open If you keep an employee’s job open for them, you have options around how to fill their role while they’re on parental leave. You could: redistribute their work among other existing employees — if you do this, think about the health and safety risks for the employees that pick up extra work, and do not overload them with work hire a contractor A self-employed person or independent contractor who is hired to perform services under a ‘contract for services’. or temporary worker hire a temporary employee on a fixed-term Employment that ends on a specified date or when a particular event occurs, for example, covering for parental leave or seasonal work like fruit-picking. agreement. If you do this, their employment agreement A written document setting out the terms and conditions of employment agreed by the employer and employee (also known as a ‘contract of service’). It can include other contractual documents and agreements made by the employer and employee. Every employee must have a written employment agreement. must say that they’re being employed temporarily to replace someone on parental leave, and the person on leave may return to work early — if this happens, you must give them the notice period stated in their employment agreement. Types of worker Hiring Work-related stress - WorkSafe (external link) Filling a key position For a key position, you must be able to prove: the position is crucial to running your business, and it’s not possible to find a short-term replacement for your employee. If an employee’s role is a key position and they want to take more than 4 weeks of parental leave, you do not have to keep the role open for them. Instead, you can hire someone else to fill the role and give your employee a 26-week ‘period of preference’ when their parental leave ends. This means that for 26 weeks after their leave ends, if you have a vacancy for a job that’s similar to their previous job, you must offer it to them before anyone else. Key position If you define a role as a key position, talk to your employee about the reasons why, and give them some reassurance about what will happen when they return from parental leave. If a role is made redundant If you know about a redundancy When an employee’s employment is terminated because their position has become surplus to the requirements of the business. Employers must follow a proper and fair process and consider redeployment options before making any positions redundant. when an employee applies for parental leave, you must advise them within 21 days that you are not able to keep their position open and they will go into a 26-week period of preference when their parental leave ends. Then, if a very similar role comes up, you must offer it to them before anyone else. You must not otherwise make an employee on parental leave redundant unless you can show that the redundancy situation came up after you agreed to the parental leave arrangements, and that you do not have a very similar position you could appoint them to instead. If you have an employee who is on parental leave and their job becomes redundant while they’re on leave, you must follow a fair and proper redundancy process and try to place them into another role. You do not have to offer a period of preference if the redundancy was not known about when the employee applied for parental leave. Redundancy Workplace change process Staying in touch with your employees When an employee is on parental leave, you must: inform them of any major changes in the workplace — particularly if those changes will have an impact on their employment pay them for any 'keeping in touch' hours they work while they're on parental leave. 'Keeping-in-touch' hours are also known as 'keeping-in-touch' days. ‘Keeping-in-touch’ hours Employees can only work 'keeping-in-touch' hours while they're getting paid, or are entitled to, either: parental leave payments from Inland Revenue (IR), or preterm baby payments from IR. Employees do not have to work 'keeping-in-touch' hours, but they can if they want to and if you agree. They can work: up to 64 hours during the parental leave payment period, and extra hours during the preterm baby payment period (if they get this from IR) — the number of hours depends how long they get these payments for. If the employee has transferred some parental leave or preterm baby payments to their partner, they can both share these hours. Together, they cannot work more than the maximum number of hours. Your employee should keep track of their hours and let you know about any hours their partner has already used. 'Keeping-in-touch' hours while getting parental leave payments As long as the employee does 64 hours or less, they are not considered to be back at work. They are considered to be back at work if they: do more than 64 hours of paid work while they're getting paid parental leave, or do paid work within the first 28 days of their child's birth. Once they're back at work, they will not be able to get any more parental leave payments from IR. If they get any payments after they're back at work, IR can ask them to pay the money back. Working 'keeping-in-touch' hours after parental leave payment period ends If an employee works any 'keeping-in-touch' hours after the parental leave payment period ends, they're considered to be back at work. The payment period is usually the first 26 weeks after their child is born (or comes into their care). This could affect them if they apply late for their parental leave payments. It means they might not be able to get parental leave payments. To find out more about parental leave payments, including when to apply, go to: Parental leave payments 'Keeping-in-touch' hours while getting preterm baby payments If your employee gets preterm baby payments from IR, they can work extra 'keeping-in-touch' hours during the preterm baby payment period. They can work a total of: 3 hours multiplied by the number of weeks they get preterm baby payments. Example They get preterm baby payments for 4 weeks. Calculate their total number of hours: 3 hours x 4 weeks = 12 hours. They can work up to a total of 12 hours. This means they can work a maximum of 12 hours at any time during the preterm baby payment period. If they work more than the maximum number of hours If they work more than the maximum number of hours, they're considered to be back at work. This means their preterm baby payments from IR will stop. If they get any preterm baby payments after they're back at work, IR can ask them to pay the money back. Best practice tips before parental leave starts Before your employee goes on parental leave, work out a plan for staying in touch with them while they’re off work. Take your lead from them — they might be happy with a phone call once a month, or a quick email every few weeks. It will give you a chance to see how they’re getting on and let them know what’s happening at work in their absence. When employees return from parental leave When an employee comes back to work after parental leave, you must: provide breastfeeding or expressing facilities if required genuinely consider any requests for flexible work arrangements. It's also good to have a chat with them about their needs, expectations and entitlements before they start back. Rest and breaks Flexible work What your employees must do When an employee is ready to come back to work after taking parental leave, they must let you know in writing. They need to do this at least 21 days before they’re due back, whether they’re returning on their agreed start date or want to come back to work early. If an employee wants to come back to work earlier than planned, they must get your approval first, unless: they are no longer the primary carer of the child they have a miscarriage, or their child is stillborn or dies. You can ask them to provide a medical certificate showing they’re fit to return to work before you agree to an earlier start date. If you could not keep their original job open for them while they were on parental leave, your employee’s parental leave end date will also mark the first day of their 6 month period of preference. If your employee has a miscarriage, stillbirth, or their infant dies It’s important that you make your employee aware that they have options if they have a miscarriage, stillbirth or an infant they are the primary carer of dies. They can come back to work earlier than planned without your approval, they're entitled to use their full entitlement to parental leave if they prefer, and they can use their bereavement leave Paid time away from work that gives an eligible employee time to grieve and to take care of matters if someone close to them dies. It can be taken at any time and for any purpose relating to the bereavement. entitlement whenever they choose. Managing bereavement leave Your employee may appreciate an opportunity to create a return-to-work plan following a miscarriage, stillbirth or the loss of a child. They may want to talk to you about flexible working options or a phased return to work. Confirm with your employee whether they want to keep their situation private or are comfortable with colleagues being aware of the bereavement. Breastfeeding at work If an employee is breastfeeding, you must: provide a quiet, private place for them to either breastfeed or express milk give them extra breaks to do so – unless you and your employee agree they will breastfeed or express during other break times let them know whether these breaks are paid or unpaid — they’re generally unpaid, but you can make this a paid break if you prefer. If so, note it in your workplace policies or employment agreements. Sometimes your operating environment or resources mean it is not reasonable or practical to provide breastfeeding facilities. If this is the case, talk about it with your employee and try to agree on a solution. Rest and breaks Code of Employment Practice on Infant Feeding [PDF, 271 KB] Breastfeeding in the Workplace – A Guide for Employers [PDF, 370 KB] Flexible work requests Your employee may ask about making changes to their usual work arrangements when they return to work. For example, they may want to look at changing their hours of work, or the days they work. They may want to work from home, or from a different office or building. If an employee requests flexible working arrangements, you must consider the request in good faith An underlying principle in employment law which requires employers and employees to deal with each other honestly, openly, and in a fair and timely way. and reply to them in writing within 1 month. You can only refuse their request for certain business reasons. Make sure they know about any workplace policies Workplace policies and procedures explain the rules and expectations in the workplace. you have about flexible working and familiarise yourself with the flexible working provisions in the Employment Relations Act 2000. Considering flexible working requests Employment Relations Act 2000 - New Zealand Legislation (external link) If an employee chooses not to come back to work When an employee decides not to return to work after parental leave, they must let you know in writing. They must do this at least 21 days in advance unless they have a longer notice period as part of their employment agreement A written document setting out the terms and conditions of employment agreed by the employer and employee (also known as a ‘contract of service’). It can include other contractual documents and agreements made by the employer and employee. Every employee must have a written employment agreement. . If they resign rather than come back to work, their last day of employment will be the day they left to go on parental leave. Any 'keeping in touch' days they worked during parental leave do not change this date. If they received payment for those 'keeping in touch' days, the payment should not be included in their final pay calculation. Final pay Annual holiday entitlements Make sure your employee understands their holiday entitlements and balances when they get back to work, including any relevant workplace policies or employment agreement A written document setting out the terms and conditions of employment agreed by the employer and employee (also known as a ‘contract of service’). It can include other contractual documents and agreements made by the employer and employee. Every employee must have a written employment agreement. provisions you have with regards to annual