Maternity Leave
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11501
Printed Date: 17 October 2025 at 5:02pm
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Topic: Maternity Leave
Posted By: busymum
Subject: Maternity Leave
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 9:49am
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Our present situation is that my DH is SAHD and I am working 30 hours a week - until Christmas. And we have until the end of that time to decide what to do for next year. We don't want to put our children in care, basically our ideal is that one of us will be home with the kids while the other one works. Things have been going heaps better than I expected with me working and DH being full-time dad, and I'm starting to consider it as a long-term option. Especially since I am really enjoying my work and there is unconfirmed potential (at this stage) for it to become a permanent position when my time ends.
I think I'd be happy to dive straight into that except that both of us feel that 3 kids is not our final number. In fact we were (before I got this job) hoping I would get pregnant again about now, and have been casually TTC (to no avail) since June! I think I'd be alright with leaving a 6mo at home with DH while I worked, but I'm not so sure about a 3-6mo - and obviously 3mos is the present cut-off of paid maternity leave. So now I have a tonne of questions about maternity leave. I've never taken it before so I don't know what to expect or even what to ask. So if you think of anything I haven't asked that would be helpful, add that too! 
Questions: Is maternity leave pay a set rate or calculated as a % of your previous earnings Do you still get the WFF In-Work Payment when you are on maternity leave? (Presuming that your DH is working less than 30 hours) Paid maternity leave is currently set at 12 or 13 weeks? And how long do you have to work first to be eligible (6mos?) I heard that if you want to be eligible for the full 12 month leave (which is 9mos unpaid), you need to first work a year in that one job. Is that correct? Do you get WFF In-Work Payment when you take 3-12m maternity (unpaid) leave? (Presuming that your DH is working less than 30 hours) There has been talk about extending maternity leave so that leave is fully paid up to 12 mos by 2015 or something. Is that actually happening or was just a proposal that the Government has not taken on? Who pays maternity leave, the IRD? (or the employer) -------------  |
Replies:
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 10:07am
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Here is the link to everything you need to know about paid parental leave. Also pays to check your contract.
http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/parentalleave/ - Parental Leave ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 10:15am
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Hey, it is at a set rate if you earn more than $372 a week i think... Well anyways i get the maximum at the moment and its $640.20 a fortnight.
I dont know about WFF, but if you can get it id like to.. but on the WFF online form to register for it, it says you cant be getting parental leave?? You have to be in paid employment for 6 months then you get 14 weeks paid M leave. Yup you have to be there a year to get the 12 months (9 months unpaid) I again dont know about the WFF or the new proposal. IRD does pay it to you. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 10:39am
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Is maternity leave pay a set rate or calculated as a % of your previous earnings It is worked out on your earnings to a certain point. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 11:11am
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Ok I haven't read everything (too lazy) but I found out I was pregnant whilst working my notice at one job, ooops we had planned to stop TTC until i had been at the new job 6 months. So basically I was 9 weeks when I started the new job, I was entitled to the full 14 weeks paid and it was calculated on what I had been earning at the new company. Because I had not been with them for 12+ months at my due date I was not entitled to take off anymore than the 14 weeks. My work are really lovely and I am not starting back till jan they let me have time off unpaid even though they were not legally obligated too.
I can't answer the WFF stuff as we don't qualify for any help whatsoever. Hope that helps ------------- 
 
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 11:16am
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Oh one more thing, the maximum they will pay you is minimum wage, so even though I only worked about 26 hours a week I still got the full entitlement because I earnt more than 40 hours at minimum wage.
Full entitlement is about $326 a week, if you earn more than that you will only get $326 if you earn less than that you will get whatever you earn at the moment. Hope that makes sense, there are some calculators on the IRD website that help you work out what you are entitled too. -------------
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 12:47pm
eek that's really low   ------------- |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 12:49pm
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Tell me about it, still is better than a kick in the teeth. -------------
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 12:51pm
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Oh that $326 is after tax. Always makes me laugh that the government pay you something then tax it, doesn't it come out of tax money? Aren't they taxing tax? -------------
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Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 1:53pm
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Teresa.. become a nurse for midcentral.. lol..they top up your IRD amount up to the amount you'd usually get for the full 14 weeks now.. lol (of course that'd take 3 years study.. lol)
Am sure you guys will work something out.  ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja 
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 4:12pm
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Yea lol cuppatea!!
Janine - I'm a fainter LOL! ------------- |
Posted By: AnnC
Date Posted: 13 October 2007 at 5:36pm
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Busymum I took maternity leave and just gone back. Its the first my work has someone come back (just my branch manager) so learning new things. i can answer your questions BUT the others have already... but if there is more questions ask away or PM (or msn )
Oh interestingly - not sure if just my work - but my annual leave accumulated whilst on leave so I heaps owing - hopeing to get it paid out though. ------------- Ann 
Also Mum to Josh (15) and Brooke (10) |