Photo: Supplied/ NZ Human Rights Commission
A woman who had her paid parental leave application turned down because she worked 296 hours - but not 10 hours a week over at least 26 weeks - in the year before applying for paid parental leave has lost a bid to have the decision overturned.
Amy de Vries asked the Employment Relations Authority to review the decision.
Her baby was due on 9 August last year and she applied for paid parental leave in April.
She was told her application was approved provided she worked at least 10 hours a week in any of the 26 weeks of the 52 before her due date.
It was noted at this time she had not worked 26 weeks yet and was told to advise Inland Revenue if she did not.
She was declined in July on the basis she had not worked enough.
She argued that while she had not worked the minimum 10 hours over 26 weeks, that would have taken her to a total of 260 hours, and she had worked 296 over the time period.
Employment Relations Authority member Eleanor Robinson noted that de Vries said medical circumstances reduced her ability to work.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment told the authority that it could not exercise its discretion with paid parental leave when the eligibility criteria had not been met.
"I fully understand the basis for consideration Ms de Vries has submitted, and I appreciate that the purpose of s 7A of the PLEPA is to entitle the primary carer of a child who stops working or takes a period of leave to receive parental leave payments out of public funds.
"However Parliament has set a statutory requirement for eligibility for parental leave payments. Ms de Vries has not met the statutory requirement which is not only for a minimum hours, but for a period of weeks over which they must be worked.
"The authority cannot set aside statute. In those circumstances, I find that there is no legal basis which would permit the authority to set aside the statutory eligibility criteria."
Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez-March said people should have financial security to spend time with their newborns.
"The current paid parental leave eligibility criteria is too strict. It particularly penalises people who are doing a mixture of self-employed work and being an employee, which includes low-wage workers like cleaners as well as middle-income workers."
He said the Greens would overhaul the paid parental leave system to guarantee good incomes to parents so children could be given the best start in life.
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