Planning parental leave can be difficult . Do you want to go back to work ? When will you go back to work? What if you change your mind?
Under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 a pregnant female employee is entitled to maternity leave if at her estimated delivery date she will have been in the employment of the same employer for at least 10 hours per week for the immediate preceding 12 months. “Ordinary” maternity leave is to be taken in one continuous period not exceeding 14 weeks.
You are also entitled to extended leave of not more than 52 weeks. There is a presumption that an employee’s position can be kept open until the end of the 52 weeks. This may not be the case, however, if you hold a key position and a temporary replacement is not reasonably practicable . This is something you need to sort out before you have your baby.
If you wish to take parental leave you must give written notice to your employer at least three months before the expected delivery date. The notice must state the proposed date on which you wish to start leave your leave and when you intend to return.
Your employer must (within 21 days) give you a written notice stating whether you are entitled to take leave and whether your position can be kept open.
It is unlawful for an employer to terminate an employee’s employment because of pregnancy. The Employment Relations Authority recently awarded $13,000 to a woman dismissed from her job because of her pregnancy. The woman worked for a dressmaker and when she discovered she was pregnant told her supervisor. The supervisor advised her not to tell the director of the company because he was likely to dismiss her.
Later when the woman began suffering from morning sickness she decided to tell the director about her pregnancy. A few weeks later the woman noticed the director interviewing job applicants. She returned to work after several days sick leave and found one of the job applicants at her desk doing the sewing she normally did. The director dismissed the woman and told her he was “sick of her problems becoming his problems”.
The Authority ordered the company to pay outstanding wages, plus $7,000 for humiliation and $3,000 costs.
In the vast majority of cases employers are fair – just make sure that you keep the lines of communication open at all times before and after the birth of your baby.
Mary-Jane Thomas is head of Preston Russell's employment law team. Contact her by clicking here
