The Employment Court has agreed with the NZPFU that the collective provision providing for a payment upon return from parental leave is not limited to those that had 12 months parental leave approved.
The attached decision reaffirms the Employment Relations Decision released in September 2025. FENZ had unsuccessfully appealed that decision refusing to make the payments to NZPFU members in the interim.
All NZPFU affected members are advised to write to FENZ now and seek the immediate payment. We have many members affected by this clause, as it applies to both pregnant workers and partners. The criteria for the payment is that the worker has to have sought a period of parental leave (regardless of the period of leave), returned to work, and worked for another six months.
The relevant collective agreement clause provides:
Parental Leave
1.4.2 Parental Leave as special leave without pay shall be granted to a pregnant female worker, or the partner of a pregnant female worker where they have transferred their entitlement to parental leave under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987. It is not to be granted as sick leave on pay. An application for leave under this heading must be supported by a medical certificate.
1.4.2.1 Leave of up to twelve months is to be granted to workers with at least one year’s service at the time of commencing leave.
1.4.2.2 For those with less than one year’s service, parental leave up to six months is to be granted.
1.4.2.3 Where a worker returns to duty before the expiration of twelve month leave without pay and completes a further six month service, they qualify for a payment equivalent to thirty working days on pay (calculated at the rate payable for the thirty working days immediately following the cessation of duty). For coloured watch workers it is equivalent to 8.5 weeks’ pay, for yellow watch workers it is equivalent to 7.5 weeks’ pay, and for black watch workers it is equivalent to 6 weeks’ pay.
Prior to 2023, members were being paid the payment whether they had applied for 12 months parental leave or less.
In May 2023, FENZ Chief Advisor Michelle Richards sent a memo to the People Branch Leadership team setting out a new policy she claimed was “agreed”.
The new policy headed “New Parental Leave Grant Payment application – NZPFU CEA” was not agreed with the NZPFU. We were not even consulted about its content. This was a bizarre situation as the parties had amended the clause in the December 2022 settlement to clarify the amount payable. FENZ did not seek at that time to change the eligibility or application, yet 5 months later arbitrarily tried to do so.
Michelle Richard’s memo attempted to restrict the payment only to those NZPFU members who had applied for and been granted 12 months unpaid parental leave, took a minimum of three months leave and then completed a further 6 months upon return from unpaid parental leave. The clause does not refer to any requirement to have applied for 12 months or to have taken at least 3 months parental leave.
The NZPFU disputed the arbitrary and incorrect restrictions on the application and FENZ’s response was to put a “freeze” on any payments.
DCE People Janine Hearn wrote to the NZPFU in June 2023 claiming the memo was a “more liberal approach” and disputed it was detrimental or disadvantageous. For the members frozen out of the payment it was certainly disadvantageous and the claim that the new policy was more liberal was untenable.
The NZPFU took the case to the Employment Relations Authority and won. FENZ then appealed that Decision and the case was heard in the
Employment Court on the 11th May. The decision of the Employment Court is attached.
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
