Parental Leave Clauses
23.0 PARENTAL LEAVE
23.1 Parental leave shall be granted to an employee as leave without pay and not as sick leave on pay. Providing an application for leave of absence under this heading is received at least one month before it is intended to commence parental leave and is supported by a certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner, parental leave shall be granted as follows:
23.1.1 Leave of up to 12 months is to be granted to employees with at least one year’s service at the time of commencing leave.
23.1.2 Parental leave of up to six months is to be granted to employees with less than one year’s service.
Provided that the length of service for the purpose of this clause means the aggregate period of service, whether continuous or intermittent, in the employment of a Hospital and Health Service, District Health Board, Crown Health Enterprise or an Area Health Board.
23.2 Employees shall continue to be awarded their normal salary increments when their incremental date falls during absence on parental leave.
23.3 Subject to 23.5 below, an employee returning from parental leave is entitled to resume work in the same position or in a similar position as s/he occupied at the time of commencing parental leave. For the purpose of this provision a similar position means a position of equivalent salary and grading in the same locality or within a reasonable commuting distance and involving responsibilities broadly comparable with those of the position previously occupied.
23.4 Where, for reasons pertaining to the pregnancy, an employee, on medical advice and with the consent of the employer, elects to work reduced hours at any time prior to confinement, then the guaranteed proportion of full-time employment after parental leave shall be the same as that immediately prior to any such enforced reduction in hours.
23.5 Where the employer is not able to hold the same position open or to fill it temporarily until an employee returns from parental leave and, at the time the employee returns to work, a similar position is not available, the employer may approve:
23.5.1 An extension of parental leave for up to a further 12 months until the employee’s previous position or a similar position becomes available; or
23.5.2 An offer to the employee of a similar position in another location (if one is available) with normal transfer expenses applying. If the offer is refused, s/he continues on extended parental leave as in 23.5.1 above for up to 12 months; or
23.5.3 The appointment of the employee to a different position in the same location. If the appointment is not acceptable to the employee, s/he continues on extended parental leave in terms of 23.5.1 above for up to 12 months; or
23.5.4 Where extended parental leave in terms of 23.5.1 above expires and no position is available for the employee, s/he continues on leave without pay and the employer may terminate employment with three months’ notice; providing that an employee whose services are terminated under this provision shall be entitled to be paid the ex gratia payment calculated in terms of 23.8 below.
23.6 If the employee declines an offer in terms of 23.3 above, parental leave shall cease.
23.7 An employee granted parental leave in terms of 23.1 above shall notify the employer in writing of his/her intention to return to work or to resign at least one month prior to parental leave expiring, and if returning to work report for duty not later than the expiry date of such leave.
23.8 Where an employee who is granted leave in terms of 23.1 above returns to duty at or before the expiration of leave or extended leave and completes a further six calendar months’ service, s/he shall receive a payment equivalent to six weeks’ leave on pay calculated at the rate applying for the six weeks immediately following cessation of duty. If employment prior to confinement was part-time, however, payment shall be based on the proportion that the part-time hours worked a week bears to 40. Where, for reasons pertaining to the pregnancy, an employee on medical advice and with the consent of the employer elects to work reduced hours at any time prior to confinement, then the calculation of the lump sum payment shall be based on the proportion of full-time employment immediately prior to any such enforced reduction in hours. Where an employee is absent on parental leave for less than six weeks, s/he shall receive that proportion of payment that the absence represents in relation to six weeks. Where an RMO taking Parental Leave receives the parental leave payments provided for in the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act, at the employee’s nomination instead of the lump sum payment provided for above, the DHB will pay the equivalent total (i.e. up to six weeks’ salary as at the date of taking parental leave) in equal instalments as a partial salary top up while the RMO is in receipt of the statutory payment. Each equal instalment shall be calculated based on the ratio of 6 weeks to 14 weeks and shall only be made in respect of the period for which the RMO is on parental leave and in receipt of the statutory payment if this is less than 14 weeks. If the total value of this top up is less than the value of the 6 week lump sum entitlement referred to above, then the balance shall be paid as a lump sum on the return of the RMO to work at a DHB.
23.9 An employee returning from parental leave may request the employer to vary the proportion of whole-time employment from that which applied before the leave was taken. The granting of such a request shall be at the discretion of the CEO. The calculation of the ex gratia payment in these circumstances shall be based on the proportion of whole-time employment which applied before taking the leave but excluding any temporary reduction in hours immediately prior to confinement.
23.10.1 Leave on adoption. The provisions of this clause shall apply in full to parents legally adopting a child under the age of 12 months, subject to the requirement of one month’s notice and the provision of a medical certificate being replaced by the provisions of 23.10.2 below.
23.10.2 The intention to legally adopt a child shall be notified to the employer immediately following advice from Child Youth and Family or the equivalent Government Agency to the adoptive applicants that they are considered suitable adoptive parents. Subsequent evidence of approved adoption placement shall be provided to the satisfaction of the employer.
23.11.1 Limits on Hours for Pregnant employees. Employees shall be able to reduce hours of work as follows: (a) From 28 weeks of pregnancy (or earlier if considered medically appropriate by the employee’s lead maternity carer), no night shifts shall be worked. (b) From 32 weeks of pregnancy (or earlier if considered medically appropriate by the employee’s lead maternity carer), no long days in excess of 10 hours shall be worked. (c) From 36 weeks of pregnancy (or earlier if considered medically appropriate by the employees lead maternity carer), no acute clinical workload shall be allocated.
23.11.2 Employees reducing hours as provided for in clause 23.11.1 above shall have their salary reduced in a manner agreed between the parties on a case by case basis.
