Parental Leave Pay is a payment available to families under the Paid Parental Leave scheme, it is taxable and paid at the rate of the National Minimum Wage.
Parental Leave Pay helps eligible working parents take time off to care for a newborn or recently adopted child. If you need to provide Parental Leave Pay we give you the funds to pass on to your employees. You should provide the funds in the same way you pay their salary or wages.
The scheme does all the following:
- complements other birth or adoption leave provided by employers
- recognises taking time off to care for a child is an important and usual course of life for parents
- promotes equality between men and women and balance between work and family life.
The scheme also helps you do all the following:
- retain valuable and skilled staff by encouraging them to stay connected with their workplace when they become parents
- enhance a family friendly workplace without you having to fund Parental Leave Pay
- increase long term workforce participation for new parents.
Learn more about your role in the Paid Parental Leave scheme.
Parental Leave Pay before 1 July 2023
For a child born or adopted before 1 July 2023, parents can get up to 18 weeks pay.
To be eligible, they must not be working from the time they become their child’s primary carer. They must also not work until the end of their Paid Parental Leave period. There are some exceptions if your employee returns to work early.
Claims for Dad and Partner Pay closed on 30 June 2024.
Flexible Paid Parental Leave
If your employee’s child is born or adopted before 1 July 2023, they may have Flexible Paid Parental Leave days. Up to 30 Flexible Paid Parental Leave days are available as part of the maximum 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay. Parents can connect some or all their Flexible Paid Parental Leave days to their 12 week Paid Parental Leave period. This will extend their continuous period to a maximum of 18 weeks.
If you are providing their Parental Leave Pay, this means both of the following will apply:
- you’ll only need to provide the Paid Parental Leave period and any connected Flexible Paid Parental Leave days
- we’ll provide any other Flexible Paid Parental Leave days.
You won’t need to make any special changes to the way you pay Parental Leave Pay.
Parental Leave Pay from 1 July 2023
The number of Parental Leave Pay days a family can get depends on when their child came into their care. For a child born or adopted from:
- 1 July 2023, parents can get up to 20 weeks pay
- 1 July 2024, parents can get up to 22 weeks pay.
With the birth mother or adoptive parent’s approval, any parent can claim Parental Leave Pay. They can work before or after any periods of Parental Leave Pay. They can use it on days they’re not working, including weekdays, weekends, holidays or any time they’re on leave from work. There are some exceptions if your employee works on days they are getting Parental Leave Pay.
Employees can take Parental Leave Pay before, after or at the same time as paid or unpaid leave.
Employees may also be eligible for Paid Parental Leave if they’ve stopped working due to special circumstances. You can read more about exceptions to the work test for Parental Leave Pay.
Parents can share their days and take up to 10 days at the same time. These are available as part of the maximum number of days of Parental Leave Pay available to families. They can get Parental Leave Pay as any of the following:
- a single block
- multiple smaller blocks
- single days
- a combination of smaller blocks and single days.