7 November 2001
More Job Opportunities For Temporary Workers From Paid Parental Leave
Employers are pleased the paid parental leave policy announced today will be funded from taxation instead of an
employer levy, says Business New Zealand Executive Director Anne Knowles.
Ms Knowles says implementation issues will have to be clearly understood before next July.
"New parents will still have their entitlement to 12 months' parental leave but will now be eligible to receive a
parental payment for 12 weeks of this period.
"That payment will encourage more parents to take leave, which will mean more opportunities for temporary workers, but
which may create a larger problem for employers in getting temporary replacements. This will be made worse by the fact
that there is no requirement for those taking parental leave to actually return to the job once the leave is over, and
no requirement for them to inform their employer of their intentions until three weeks before they are due to return.
"Neither do they have to repay any of the money received if they do not return to work. As a result, women who
previously would have resigned knowing they were not going to return to work will now be more likely to apply for leave.
"This is likely to place a great deal of uncertainty on employers and might, in some cases, make them less keen to
employ young women - and that would be very unfortunate."
Ends