Parental Leave

Parental leave did not figure as an issue in NACEW's early years. The Council suggested in its submission to the Royal Commission on Social Security the payment of a special allowance to mothers with pre-school children.^[37] In NACEW's Statement on the Employment of Women in the 1970s three groups were identified. The first group was school leavers who would leave the workforce at the time of marriage. The second was women who would return to work when their youngest child went to primary school. And the third was women who would work through their adult life, but this group was considered a small group who would only take short breaks for the care of very young children or elderly relatives. This group was single women, sole mothers or career women. This statement did not strongly identify maternity leave as a need for women.^[38]

Yet in 1976, the Department of Labour's Research and Planning Division began a research project on maternity leave and sent questionnaires to 100 employers about their experiences with and attitudes to maternity leave^[39]. In 1977, parental leave had moved up NACEW's agenda and was considered to be 'one of the most important items on the Council's agenda.'^[40] Parental leave was now seen as an integral part of the social arrangements necessary for men and women to combine work and care commitments. The Council drafted proposals for minimum standards for maternity and paternity leave and presented them to the Minister of Labour.

In 1977, maternity leave was extended from six to 12 months with full job protection in the state sector.^[41] In 1979, the Maternity Leave and Employment Protection Bill provided for a minimum of 26 weeks unpaid leave with job protection assured. NACEW was disappointed, as this bill did not meet NACEW's minimum standards, as fathers were not eligible. NACEW had also wanted fathers to be eligible for two weeks paternity leave. The legislation, Maternity Leave and Employment Protection Act, took effect from April 1981.

NACEW regretted that there was no provision for collecting information on use of the provisions in the legislation such as the number of women taking it and the number of women who were declined leave by their employers.

By 1985, the Minister of Employment was keen to extend the provisions of this Act to allow fathers to take leave to care for infants. At this time there was a working party of officials considering options and implications of any payment for parental leave.^[42] The Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 allowed fathers to take leave to care for infants and extended the period of parental leave from six to 12 months. The Council was pleased with the passing of this legislation but wanted some form of payment as a necessary adjunct to the legislation. In 1989, NACEW called for a review of the legislation. In 1994, the Council started a major report on parental leave. This report, completed in the 1996/1997 year, included an explanation as to why parental leave is an important area of labour market policy, a description of the parental leave provisions under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, and conclusions about the implications of the current provisions and areas for further work such as the costs and benefits of paid parental leave.

In 1999, NACEW presented a submission on the Paid Parental Leave Bill. The submission did not unreservedly support or oppose the Bill in its current form but raised issues. The Council argued that both the costs and benefits of various funding options should be considered, and the need for improved information and education on the provisions of current parental leave legislation.

In 2000, NACEW prepared a submission for the Employment Relations Service of the Department of Labour on the ILO Maternity Protection Convention that acknowledged that current New Zealand legislation was incompatible with the Convention. This made ratification unlikely. In some respects, New Zealand's legislation exceeded provisions and in other areas it fell short. NACEW urged the government to move towards full ratification. In 2002, NACEW prepared a submission to the Social Services Select Committee on the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave) Amendment Bill supporting paid parental leave. The Council recognised that the scheme was beneficial to New Zealand women and would bring New Zealand in line with other OECD countries.

In 2005, NACEW supported the extension of paid parental leave to self-employed women as set out in the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave for Self-Employed Persons) Amendment Bill 2005. In 2006, the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Paid Parental Leave for Self-Employed Persons) Amendment Bill was passed. It extended the provisions in the earlier Act so that from 1 July 2006 self-employed mothers who have been working an average of 10 hours a week or more became eligible for 14 weeks paid parental leave.

Parental leave provisions have come a long way since 1967. NACEW from early on viewed parental leave, and then more recently paid parental leave, as 'part of a wider spectrum of measures, such as provision of adequate childcare facilities, which will act together to provide true equality of opportunity in employment for women.'^[43]