The Employment (Maternity Leave Extension and Paternity Leave)
Amendment Act 2019 (Bill) (2019 Amendment) has been tabled in
Parliament and, once passed and brought into force, the amended
Employment Act 2000 (Employment Act) will contain improved minimum
benefits for maternity and paternity leave.
The 2019 Amendment enhances maternity leave by:
- increasing the statutory minimum of
paid maternity leave (for employees who have been employed for 1
year or more) by 1 week from 12 weeks leave to 13 weeks leave;
and
- extending the amount of unpaid leave
an employee who has been employed for less than a year is entitled
to from 8 weeks to 13 weeks.
The 2019 Amendment also introduces into the Employment Act, for
the first time, a statutory entitlement to paternity leave of 5
days (paid, for those employed for a year or more, unpaid for those
employed for less than a year). Typically, most employers have
policies in place that already afford new fathers some time
