Work requirements for employees

You qualify for parental leave payments if you:

are the primary carer of a child under 6 years old , and

have worked as an employee for an average of at least 10 hours each week over any 26 of the 52 weeks just before: your baby’s due date (if you or your partner are giving birth to the baby), or the first date you or your partner become primary carer (if you or your partner have not given birth to the baby, for example, you’re adopting a child).

If you’ve worked for more than 1 employer, you can add together the hours you’ve worked in each job to see if you qualify for parental leave payments.

You do not have to be working when you apply for parental leave payments. Your eligibility is based on how much you’ve worked over the 52-week period. As long as you’ve worked enough hours over at least 26 of the 52 weeks, you’ll qualify for payments.

If you’re considering resigning from your job, think about whether you have done enough hours to meet the work requirements.

Parental leave payments are only available while you’re not working. However, you can stay up to date with what’s happening at work by doing ‘Keeping-in-touch days’ (KIT days). There are restrictions on when you can use your KIT days and how many you can do before they stop your parental leave payments. Find out more:

What happens while on parental leave and your return

If you would have normally been at work (for an hour or more) but were absent, you can still count this time towards work requirements if you were:

on paid leave or holidays

on leave without pay (other than parental leave) with your employer’s agreement

entitled to an ACC payment during that time

on volunteers’ leave

pregnant and on primary carer leave before the baby’s due date (this does not include any primary carer leave taken in the last 6 months for a different child)

absent for any other reason considered by a Labour Inspector to not disrupt your normal pattern of employment.

Other types of leave