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View Full Version : Parental Leave = Maternity Leave ??



Elaine Li
27-03-2012, 04:44 PM
Hi HR Professional,

In Hong Kong, Female employee will eligible for PAID maternity leave.
Male Employee will eligible for PAID Paternity leave.

But when I read the NES, it looks like in Australia, all the above leaves are put under the "Parental Leave"
Staff only can applied after they work for the company at least 12 months.

My questions are :

Q1. Parental Leave are applied to both Female and Male Employees ?

Q2. Parental leave can apply up to 12 Months with NO PAY, and employee with right to request an additional 12 Months unpaid leave, i.e total maximum 24 months NO PAY

Q3. NO salary is required to pay to the Employees during the duration of Parental Leave.

Q4. When can the Female Preganat Employee allow to start the unpaid Parental leave ? 10 weeks before her expected date of confinement ??

Q5. When can the Male Employee allow to start his unpaid Parental Leave if his wife are ready to delivery the baby ?

Sorry for long mails.

Please share your experience to me, Thanks

jennifer.gallagher
29-03-2012, 09:54 AM
Hi Elaine,

Here are my thoughts:


Q1. Parental Leave are applied to both Female and Male Employees ? - Yes. This includes adoption leave.

Q2. Parental leave can apply up to 12 Months with NO PAY, and employee with right to request an additional 12 Months unpaid leave, i.e total maximum 24 months NO PAY - Yes, this is correct.

Q3. NO salary is required to pay to the Employees during the duration of Parental Leave. - As an employer, you are not required to pay the parental leave (unless their contracts/agreements stated otherwise). But you do need to assist the government with the process of paying them the Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

Q4. When can the Female Preganat Employee allow to start the unpaid Parental leave ? 10 weeks before her expected date of confinement ?? - Ideally, most companies would encourage them to start at 6 weeks before due date AT THE LATEST.

Q5. When can the Male Employee allow to start his unpaid Parental Leave if his wife are ready to delivery the baby ? - Anytime before or at due date.

Please note, generally, an employee can only apply for up to 3 weeks of unpaid parental leave UNLESS he/she will be the primary care giver of the child.

There's a lot of variance in parental leave policies but when you are producing one, make sure any doubts you have is consultated with Fair Work to avoid any legal issues in the future.

HeyPete
23-04-2012, 10:35 AM
The Government of Australia provides Paid Parental Leave, outside of the Fair Work Act.

They generally require this payment to be done through the employer payroll, and then they reimburse.