Parental leave in special circumstances: a guide for NZ employers
Many pregnancies go smoothly. But some don’t—and when things become difficult, your support as an employer matters more than ever.
This guide explains your employees’ statutory entitlements under special circumstances and provides practical steps for supporting your team during these high-stress moments. In this guide, we cover:
Miscarriage and stillbirth
Termination
Premature birth
Pregnancy complications
Twins/multiples
Miscarriage and stillbirth
Statutory entitlements
Bereavement leave: after six months of service, an employee is entitled to 3 days of paid bereavement leave if they or their partner experience a:
Miscarriage (before 20 weeks), or
Stillbirth (the loss of a baby at or after 20 weeks gestation).
If they plan to have a child through surrogacy or adoption and the pregnancy ends by miscarriage or stillbirth, they are also eligible for bereavement leave.
Parental leave: primary carers who are eligible for government-paid parental leave remain eligible to receive payments if they experience a miscarriage or stillbirth. If they wish to return to work early, they can do so with 21 days’ notice.
Whetūrangitia is a government website that provides information and support for families and whānau who experience the loss of a baby or child.
Termination
Statutory entitlements
Bereavement leave is not available for pregnancy terminations (planned or medical). In this case, an employee may be able to use their sick leave to take time off work after having a termination.
Approach these conversations with care. Employees may or may not want to disclose why they’re taking time away.
Premature births
Statutory entitlements
A baby is considered premature if born earlier than 37 weeks gestation.
Preterm baby payments: employees who qualify for government-paid parental leave (PLL) can receive preterm baby payments at the same rate as their PPL. The rate is currently capped at $754.87 gross weekly (January 2025).
Payments start from birth.
Payments are available for a continuous period of up to 13 weeks.
Payments end on the date that would have been the end of the 36 weeks gestation or earlier if the employee has returned to work.
If an employee is already receiving PPL and has a premature baby, they can pause parental leave payments and start preterm baby payments instead. Once the preterm payments end, their regular parental leave payments resume. They must contact IRD to arrange this transition.
Employees can return to work between the end of preterm payments and the start of regular parental leave payments.
Additional keeping-in-touch (KIT) hours: Employees receiving preterm baby payments can work additional KIT hours during the preterm baby payment period.
The total extra KIT hours = 3 hours per week multiplied by the number of weeks they receive preterm baby payments. Exceeding this limit means they are considered to have returned to work, and any further payments may need to be repaid.
This does not affect their ability to receive parental leave payments or use KIT hours during parental leave.
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Mia’s baby is born at 32 weeks. She qualifies for government-paid parental leave, so she is eligible for five (5) weeks of preterm payments. She can also work up to 15 KIT hours (5 weeks × 3 hours per week) during this period.
Want to make sure your policy covers these scenarios?
Pregnancy complications
Statutory entitlements
An employee might start their parental leave earlier than planned if they have a high-risk pregnancy, experience pregnancy complications or pregnancy prevents them from doing their job, and the employer cannot transfer them to alternative duties.
Employees in this situation can still take at least 20 weeks of primary carer leave after their due date—even if they’ve taken more than 26 weeks of leave in total.
In this situation, the additional weeks of primary carer leave are not included in calculating the amount of extended leave available.
Financial support: if an employee needs to start paid parental leave earlier, they can choose to bring forward their paid parental leave start date.
They may be eligible for Jobseeker Support from Work and Income NZ if they cannot work due to pregnancy complications. To apply, they need a medical certificate from their midwife or doctor.
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Ari notifies her employer she will start her 26 weeks' primary carer leave two weeks before her due date followed by 26 weeks' extended leave.
Due to pregnancy complications, Ari’s midwife directs her to start her primary carer leave 10 weeks before her due date. Her healthy baby is born a couple of days before her due date.
Ari is entitled to take at least 20 weeks of primary carer leave after her due date for a total of 34 weeks of primary carer leave (her original 26 weeks plus an extra 8 weeks because she had to start her primary carer 8 weeks earlier than intended).
In addition, she will still be able to take 26 weeks' extended leave. This means Ari can take a total of 60 weeks of parental leave.
Twins and multiples
Statutory entitlements
Only one entitlement is available per pregnancy, not per child. Multiples New Zealand provides additional support and resources for parents of twins or triplets. Learn more here.
Best practices for employers
Your organisation’s approach to parental leave under special circumstances speaks volumes about your workplace culture. Here are some best practices for employers:
Be proactive: don’t wait for your employee to come to you. Make information easy to access and update your policy to include special circumstances so employees don’t have to ask if their unique situation “counts”.
Train your managers: normalise conversations and equip people leaders to respond with empathy. A simple “We’re here for you. Take the time you need” goes a long way.
Offer additional leave: more employers provide extra paid or unpaid leave beyond legal entitlements. Even better, formalise this in your parental leave policy so employees can find the information when needed.
Provide flexibility: consider phased returns to work, reduced hours, or hybrid work options to reduce stress for employees and their families.
You don’t need all the answers—just a plan
Every situation is different. What matters most is that your employees feel seen, supported, and safe coming to you.
Need a hand improving your policy or modelling the cost?
Now for the important legal part: The information we provide is general and not regulated financial advice for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Please seek independent legal, financial, tax or other advice in considering whether the content in this article is appropriate for your goals, situation or needs. The information in this article is current as at 25 March 2025.
Stephanie Pow
Founder & CEO of Crayon
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