HR Practice For Payroll Practitioners

HR Practice for Payroll Practitioners

What happens when an employee does not return from parental leave? The purpose of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 (PLEPA) is to protect an employee’s employment while they are off undertaking their parental responsibilities. Sometimes the employee has every intention of returning to work and arranges their parental leave for that purpose, but sometimes they then decide not to return. If the employee does not return from parental leave what termination date should be used in payroll? If the employee is off on parental leave and they contact the employer and state they will not return, then the first day they started parental leave becomes their termination date. It is not the date they advised you they would not be returning or the last day they were physically in the workplace. This is stated in Section 46 of the PLEPA. As the employee has not returned from parental leave, it means any entitlement earned while on parental leave is lost. Also, payroll will need to determine if there is any entitlement or accrual still owed that was earned prior to the employee’s terminati on date now being the first day of taking parental leave. What about if the employee has worked while on parental leave? From 28 days after the baby is born up to 26 weeks, the employee can return to work for up to 64 hours of ‘keeping in touch’ days (only if the employer agrees). If the employee then decides not to return to work, the keeping in touch hours that have been paid are not part of the 8% on termination because the termination date is the first day of parental leave.

Here is an MBIE reference on the above: • https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and holidays/parental-leave/returning-to-work/

For additional information, look at this EmploymentNZ reference: https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/parental leave/returning-to-work/

© New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association, Sep 2024, Ver 12

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