Starting your payments after other paid leave

You can choose to delay the start date of your payments if you’re taking other paid leave first, for example annual holidays. Your parental leave payments will start the day after your other paid leave ends.

If you apply for parental leave payments before your baby is born, you can use the baby’s due date as the expected start date for payments.

If your baby is born before the due date or you go on parental leave before your baby is born, you’ll need to tell Inland Revenue so they can start your payments earlier.

If you’re not the birth mother (or their spouse or partner) and you know a baby is coming into your care permanently, you can also use the baby’s due date as the expected start date for parental leave payments. However, Inland Revenue will not start the payments until they have confirmed the baby is in your care.

If you apply for parental leave payments after your baby was born or child comes into your care, Inland Revenue will backdate the payments to the date your payment period started.

If you apply more than 26 weeks after the baby was born or the child came into your care, Inland Revenue will pay your parental leave payments in a lump sum.