Parental Leave in New Zealand 2005/2006 Evaluation

Author: Paul Callister

In 2002, the government introduced paid parental leave. Initially it was for a period of 12 weeks, which increased to 14 weeks in 2005 and extended eligibility to employees who had six months service or more with the same employer. In July 2006, the entitlement was extended to self-employed parents. Today, more than 20,000 parents access Government-funded paid parental leave every year. This evaluation, conducted by the Department of Labour, examines the effectiveness of New Zealand’s parental leave legislation. The evaluation explores the decision-making and experiences of working parents before, during and after parental leave. Employers are also asked for their experiences and the evaluation includes feedback from parents ineligible for parental leave.

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All publications in subject category: Conditions of employment

     · An ''unlucky generation'' ? The wages of supermarket workers post-ECA
     · Employee Awareness and Attitudes - A Pilot Survey
     · Employment Issues Survey 1988
     · Parental Leave And Carers Leave: International Provision And Research
     · ''Precarious'' Non-Standard Employment - A Review of the Literature
     · Report of Exploratory Case Study Research Into Precarious Employment
     · The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature
     · Trends in Employee Tenure, Turnover and Work Scheduling Patterns: A Review of the Empirical Research Evidence
     · Work Sharing: Its Potential to Reduce Unemployment in New Zealand
     · Work values and the quality of employment: a literature review
     · Workplace Reform and the Quality of Working Life: A Tale of Three Workplaces

All publications in subject category: Employment policy / active labour market policy

     · A report card on the New Zealand labour market
     · Displacement Effects of Active Labour Market Policy
     · Employment Relationship Problems: Costs, Benefits and Choices
     · Equality: Outcomes or Opportunities? A Review of the Literature
     · Evidence to date on the working and effectiveness of ALMPs in New Zealand
     · Inventory of Labour Market Measures
     · Keeping Work Safe Enforcement Policy
     · Parental Leave And Carers Leave: International Provision And Research
     · Plan of Action to Prevent People Trafficking
     · Strategies to Return Injured Workers to Sustainable Earnings - An International Literature Review
     · The impact of employment policy interventions
     · Work Capacity Assessment Trial, Phase One results, evaluation report
     · Youth Minimum Wage Reform and the Labour Market

All publications in subject category: Employment relations / industrial relations

     · An ''unlucky generation'' ? The wages of supermarket workers post-ECA
     · Current Trends, Process and Practice in Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Review of The Literature
     · Employment Relationship Problems: Costs, Benefits and Choices
     · Evaluation of the Short-Term Impacts of the Employment Relations Act 2000
     · Parental Leave And Carers Leave: International Provision And Research
     · Report of the Public Advisory Group on Restructuring and Redundancy
     · Reporting on Workplace Health and Safety and Employment Relations: a stock-take of current practice
     · Should New Zealand have a WIRS?
     · The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature
     · The Economic Effects of Industrial Relations Systems: A Literature Review
     · The Effect of the Employment Relations Act 2000 on Collective Bargaining
     · Work-life balance and flexibility in New Zealand: A snapshot of employee and employer attitudes and experiences in 2008

All publications in subject category: Policy or programme evaluations

     · A focus on employment retention
     · Connecting policy, research and practice: What does it mean in practice?
     · Do Minimum Wages have an Adverse Impact on Employment? Evidence from New Zealand
     · Doing Action Research
     · Evaluating the Feb 1999 Domestic Purposes Benefit & Widows Benefit Reforms
     · Evaluation of ACC Reforms: Case Study Research
     · Evaluation of the Short-Term Impacts of the Employment Relations Act 2000
     · Evidence to date on the working and effectiveness of ALMPs in New Zealand
     · Factors that help/hinder community economic development: Emerging learnings from CEDAR
     · From Work to Residence
     · Government-community engagement - Key learning and emerging principles
     · Immigration Research Programme: Summary of Findings 2007
     · Lessons from the Workplace Project: an evaluation of a Work-life Balance programme initiative
     · Report of the Public Advisory Group on Restructuring and Redundancy
     · Scoping Regional Migration and its Interaction with Labour Markets in New Zealand
     · Skilled Migrants in New Zealand: Employers’ Perspectives
     · Summary of Evaluation Findings from Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Policy First Season (2007/08)
     · Survey of Employment and Training Experience of People with Disabilities
     · Survey of Long-term Unemployment
     · The Costs and Benefits of Complying with the HSE Act, 1992
     · The Effect of the Employment Relations Act 2000 on Collective Bargaining
     · The effects of occupational safety and health interventions
     · The impact of employment policy interventions
     · The Workplace Literacy Fund
     · Using administrative data sources in Labour Market research
     · Work-life balance and flexibility in New Zealand: A snapshot of employee and employer attitudes and experiences in 2008

All publications in subject category: Women

     · Decisions about Caring and Working
     · Does the minimum wage reduce the employment prospects of unqualified New Zealand Women
     · Evaluating the Feb 1999 Domestic Purposes Benefit & Widows Benefit Reforms
     · Parental Leave And Carers Leave: International Provision And Research
     · Patterns Of Gendered Skilled And Temporary Migration Into New Zealand
     · Pay inequality between Men and Women in New Zealand
     · Understanding reductions in the gender wage differential 1997-2003