Dyson Ruth: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental  Leave for Self-Employed Persons) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Dyson Ruth: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental  Leave for Self-Employed Persons) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:586] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour) 
: 
 It gives me huge pleasure to speak on the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave for Self-Employed Persons) Amendment Bill. Paid parental leave is a significant component of our Government’s policy to promote high-quality working lives. Since we introduced paid parental leave in 2002 over 52000 working parents have benefited from paid leave from work on the birth or adoption of their child. The Government conducted a review of paid parental leave in 2003 which showed that the scheme has been successful and that employees and employers have adjusted well to the entitlement. I do not recall that a single submission said that people would prefer tax cuts. They all said that it had been very successful. 
 Since that review in December of last year the Government extended paid parental leave for employees from 12 weeks to 13 weeks with a further extension from 1 December this year to 14 weeks. That review also showed though that the scheme could be improved to extend coverage to self-employed parents who are not currently eligible for paid parental leave.  
I would like at this point to make it clear that there are currently some parents who work in their own businesses who are eligible for paid parental leave. Where a company’s shareholders are also legitimately employees of the company they are eligible for parental leave payments as employees under the current scheme. This applies only to those who are legitimately shareholder employees. It is an offence under the Act to provide misleading information to obtain paid parental leave.  
This bill provides for 14 weeks’ paid parental leave from 1 July 2006 for self-employed mothers. The bill is intended to provide paid parental payments to self-employed people on a basis consistent with that currently provided to employees while recognising the particular circumstances of self-employment. It is estimated that over 2170 self-employed parents will apply for paid parental leave each year.  
Self-employed mothers will be eligible if they work an average of 10 hours a week or more during either a 6 or 12-month period immediately before the expected date of delivery of their child or adoption. Self-employed mothers will have the same right as employees to transfer this leave to their eligible partners who may either be self-employed or employees. A self-employed person will be entitled to paid parental leave if he or she is engaged in more than one type of work consecutively and/or if he or she has a break of 30 days or fewer between engagements. Like employees they will be required to stop working while receiving payments but they will be able to maintain a level of oversight of their business during the leave period.  
Parental leave payments for the self-employed will equal their average weekly income up to the maximum rate paid to employees of $357.30 per week before tax. Those who make a loss or earn less than the minimum wage for at least 10 hours a week will be entitled to payments for 10 hours a week at the minimum wage.  
The bill also provides that employees will become eligible for a second or subsequent period of parental leave and parental leave payments if the expected date of delivery or adoption is at least 6 months after the return to work from a previous period of parental leave rather than 12 months as at present. This will extend eligibility for paid parental leave to a small number of employees. It also provides that self-employed women will be eligible for parental leave payments for second and subsequent children 6 months following previous parental leave payments. It is important that these provisions are aligned with the minimum eligibility criteria for first-time mothers.  
The bill also includes a new provision which explicitly provides that an employee or self-employed person can apply to the Employment Relations Authority for a review of the decision made by the Department of Labour about his or her eligibility for a parental leave payment. It enables the department to approve applicants for payment where there are technical problems with the application. Currently these applications must go to the Employment Relations Authority before they can be approved. This amendment will save applicants from having to go through this process. But the department may not approve applications if the problem is a dispute between the employer and the employee.  
This bill reflects the Government’s commitment to provide paid parental leave for working families. It will extend coverage to a range of self-employed activities including the working arrangements of farming families. This is a significant step giving practical financial help to families when new mothers have been self-employed and it supports positive health outcomes for both mothers and babies. I look forward to the progress of this bill through the House.