Parental leave payments are separate to parental leave

Parental leave and parental leave payments are separate entitlements with different requirements and processes.

Parental leave payments are funded by the government and paid by Inland Revenue.

Parental leave is time off work to look after a new baby or child and is managed by your employer.

If you do not meet the requirements to take time off on parental leave – for example, if you’ve resigned or are self-employed — you might still be able to get parental leave payments from Inland Revenue as long as you:

meet the work requirements, and

stop working for the period you receive the payments.

Parental Leave and Payment Eligibility table [PDF, 419 KB]

Parental leave