Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, ss 30A-30J
Because the qualifying tests are different, some people who qualify for parental leave payments may not qualify to take primary carer leave from their current employer – for example, if they’ve recently changed jobs. If you’re in one of those situations, you can ask your employer to allow you to take parental leave so you can get the payments – this is called “negotiated carer leave”.
Your request to your employer has to be in writing, and you must make it at least three months before the due date for the birth – or if instead you’re taking over the care of a child under six, then at least two weeks before you start that role.
Your employer has to deal with your request as soon as possible, and not later than one month after you make it. They have to tell you whether they’ve approved or refused your request, and if they refuse they have to give you reasons. There’s a list of available grounds on which they can refuse, including that they can’t reorganise the work among the existing staff, that your leave would affect quality or performance, or that there would be additional costs.
You can’t challenge the employer’s decision if they refuse you. However, you can challenge them if they haven’t responded to you within the time limit or haven’t responded adequately (for example, if they haven’t given you any reasons for refusing). In that case you can contact a labour inspector at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, or go directly to the mediation services provided by MBIE (free phone 0800 20 90 20).
If mediation doesn’t resolve the problem, you can apply to the Employment Relations Authority (see the chapter “Resolving employment problems”). If the Authority agrees that your employer has breached the requirements, it can order them to pay you a penalty of up to $2,000.