Call for 13 months paid parental leave

Last updated 00:00 28/08/2007

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The Families Commission is calling for paid parental leave payments to be increased, and for the leave to be longer and easier to get.
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The Government started funding paid parental leave in 2002 and parents are able to take 14 weeks paid leave, one to two weeks unpaid paternity leave and 38 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave.

The commission today released a report, It's About Time – Towards a Parental Leave Policy that Gives New Zealand Families Real Choice.

Family Commission Chief Commissioner Rajen Prasad said current provisions were moving in the right direction.

"However we recommend that by 2015 parents are provided with a total of 13 months paid leave, including a month's paid leave for fathers."

The commission made several recommendations it estimated to cost $95 million today and $300m-$450m by 2015.

Recommendations were:

Widening eligibility criteria to take in workers who recently changed jobs or experienced gaps in work, include parents who were employed for at least six months in the year and remove the limitation on how many hours a person must work before being eligible;

widen job protection to parents who have six months or more continuous employment with the same employer;

introduce longer periods of paid leave by setting up three categories;

a) maternity leave – fixed at 14 weeks around the time of birth,

b) fathers/partners – four weeks paid leave which could be used at the same time as maternity leave or after it or in combination with part time work at any time within the first year.

c) family leave – 38 weeks by 2015 extended in stages and including work protection. Consideration also to be given to allowing the leave to be taken in blocks over a three year period or in combination with part-time paid work;

increasing the amount that can be paid. The cap at the moment is $391.28 per week. The report said the drop in income for some families meant they did not take their full entitlement and returned to work early.

Dr Prasad said extending parental leave would benefit families, children, employers and workplaces – it would show parenting was valued and bring New Zealand's provisions into line with other developed countries.

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"Further extending the support given to parents through parental leave is an investment in the economy and in families."

Dr Prasad said broader parental leave would help employers attract and retain skilled workers.

"Parents need time to bond with a new baby without worrying about money or their career prospects. They need real choice about when to go back to work and who will take time out of the workforce to care for the baby."

Dr Prasad said families struggled on one income at a time when their household costs were increasing because of the baby.

"Financial pressure is the main reason why many mothers do not take up their full year of job-protection leave."

Labour Minister Ruth Dyson said the report's findings would contribute to the "ongoing review and improvement" of the scheme.

"It's a priority for the Labour-led Government to ensure paid parental leave can be accessed by even more working parents – no matter what their working arrangements – and forms yet one more part of this government's commitment to supporting our families."

In May the Department of Labour released a evaluation of the scheme.

It found of those eligible eight in 10 women or two thirds of all women in paid work took it immediately before giving birth or adopting. Of the remaining third of all mothers in paid work and who did not take the parental leave, two thirds took no leave at all. One third took other types of leave.

On average most mothers returned to work after six months but would be prefer to stay at home for a year.

The report said the biggest barrier to taking a whole year off was financial pressure.

Fathers generally took other types of leave around the birth of their child. p> Council of Trade Unions (CTU) secretary Carol Beaumont welcomed the report.

She said paid parental leave needed to be improved to maintain high workforce participation, particularly among women.

"Significant positive progress in parental leave entitlement in New Zealand has been made over a relatively short time period, but there is a need to do more."

Ms Beaumont said the CTU also wanted an increase in the amount new parents received.

- NZPA