Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

When thinking about having a child the majority of people also think about parental leave to be able to take care of the little one during the early stages. It is very important to get all the facts to know when your leave starts and for how long does it last.

Who can have leave for parenting?

In order to benefit from the leave you have to work for your employer for at least 12 months before the due date. It is also possible that your leave doesn’t start right after the birth of the baby. Between this time and the time when you start your leave your partner should take care of the baby.

When it comes to maternity leave it is a rule that you have to have worked for your employer for 12 months and it is another rule that you are expected to continue working after your leave as if you didn’t give birth. Both parents could get a leave, including same-sex couples and de facto couples.

For how long does the parental leave last?

The new parents have the possibility to take up to 12 months of unpaid leave. Normally only one of the parents can take the leave at a time and only in one continuous period. It is possible to ask for the extension of the leave for up to 24 months.

In case one of the parents takes paid leave like annual leave, the leave for maternity will be reduced by this amount of time. The truth is that the laws vary from one state to the other. This means that there are the general laws that apply to all states.

Differences

When it comes to parental leave you should know that there are some differences according to the employment status of the parents. The benefits are different if both of the partners are working or if we are talking about a single parent or a couple where only one of the parents is working.

Employee couple

If you are thinking about paternal leave you should know that each of the parents could take a leave for up to 12 months if it is associated with the birth of their child or their spouse’s child or if they adopt a child under the age of 16. People can take the leave only if they are responsible for the child.

It is important to remember that the 12 months of parental leave can be reduced by the amount of unpaid leave taken in special cases. This means that if you take some unpaid leave to take care of the child, the total of 12 months that you can take will be reduced by this amount of time.

Both employees taking parenting leave

It is possible for both of the parents to take parental leave at the same time for up to 3 weeks. This could start right after the birth of the baby or at a later time, according to the agreement with the employer.