Paid maternity was first established as part of the invention and enactment of social insurance in Germany in the 1880s. The first national social insurance law was enacted in 1883, providing for health insurance, paid sick leave and paid maternity leave. France followed soon after.[1] In 1919, the International Labor Organization (ILO) enacted the first convention on maternity protection, stating that women working in industry and commerce should be entitled to a maternity leave of 12 weeks in two equal parts preceding and following childbirth, with the part following birth being compulsory. Additionally, the ILO declared that while on leave women should receive a cash benefit that would be at least two-thirds of prior earnings. Although the convention was revised and extended further in 1952, a major expansion of parental leave policies occurred in the 1970s.
The rise in labor force participation rates of women in many advanced industrialized countries during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s has led to longer and more generous maternity leave in OECD countries and launched a movement towards parental leave. In the 1980s and 1990s, parental leave policies are established as a supplement to maternity leave and to extend leave policies to create a real alternative to out-of-home infant care, and as a critical instrument of gender equity.[2]
At present, all 29 OECD countries (apart from Australia and United States) provide PPL. Among these countries, the average parental leave (including paid and unpaid maternity and paternity leaves) is almost eighteen months, with additional time provided in some countries for leaves to take care of an ill child. The average duration of paid leave is 36 weeks, typically including 14-16 weeks of paid maternity leave, supplemented by a paid parental or child rearing leave. In some countries, both the pre- and post- birth maternity component are mandatory, while in others the two can be added together and used after childbirth.[3] The entitlements range from 14 weeks in New Zealand, to 18 weeks in Great Britain (including a £1000 ‘new baby bonus’) and up to 450 days in Sweden. New Zealand is behind twelve other OECD countries in terms of length of parental leave, including the European average of 22 weeks on full pay. Australia plans to introduce 18 weeks PPL in 2011.[4]
The PLEP, prior to the 1998 and 2002 amendments, previously gave provisions for tax credits, and then a number of different types of parental leave – all of which were unpaid.[5] Under the current legislation, employees eligible for the parental leave scheme are entitled to up to 14 weeks paid leave at a rate calculated on the basis of their average weekly earnings.[6] Currently approximately two-thirds of working mothers who have children are covered, excluding those who are either self-employed or do not meet the eligibility criteria set out under the PLEP. PLEP does not affect private or voluntary arrangements between employers and employees for PPL payments.[7]
The Government states that the number of New Zealand employees receiving parental leave payments is steadily increasing, with currently over 23,000 families receiving assistance each year.[8] Other figures have the number at over 26,000 families.[9] Since paid parental leave was introduced, more than 77,500 employees have benefited from the scheme.[10]
The Government recently amended the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Rate of Parental Leave Payment) Regulations 2008, increasing parental leave payments as of July 2009, from a maximum of $407.36 per week to a maximum of $429.74 per week.[11] This reflects the adjustment to the maximum rate of paid parental leave each year to account for any increase in average weekly earnings, and additionally the financial impact of current economic conditions on employees with new children.[12]
In 2007, the Families Commission published the It’s About Time report, recommending that parents get more PPL after the birth of a baby (for both parents), and that parental leave be paid at a higher rate. While there has been some improvement, the full recommendations of the report have not been enacted.[13]
While the issue of PPL could potentially to fall under a number of larger classes of policy issues, I consider paid parental leave to be predominantly an employment issue that can be considered as part of a broad range of family-friendly employment policies. These are part of employment equity initiatives, which aim to resolve the unequal distribution of social and economic benefits that occurs between employees with children, or who are pregnant, with employees without children, and also redress the power inequality between these employees and their employers in the labor market.
PPL remains fundamental to realizing equal employment opportunity for employees with children, yet the research findings suggest that its potential effect can be constrained by limits on formal entitlement and the basis for leave as well as by the practical availability of other work-family benefits. The most fundamental change necessary to accommodate the combination of participative parenting and paid work would be to relax the rigidity of the working day and working year. The current situation, in which flexible work is largely of low pay and status, only reinforces inequalities and disadvantage.[14] Accordingly, extending PPL should have the effect of equalizing the distribution of economic and social benefits for employees with children in the labour market and enable them to engage in what it generally unpaid care of their families, while ensuring their continued employment and enabling them to receive remuneration for their employment.
[1] Kamerman, S. & Gatenio, S. (2002). Mother’s Day: More Than Candy And
Flowers, Working Parents Need Paid Time-Off. Issue Brief 2002. Retrieved from http://www.childpolicyintl.org/issuebrief/issuebrief5.htm
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Akoorie, N. (2009, August 7) Sue Moroney seeks to up parental leave. Waikato Times. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times; NZPA. (2009, June 18) Labour MP proposes longer paid parental leave. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved August 12, 2009 from www.herald.co.nz
[5] Bell Gully. (2001). Parental Leave – 12 Weeks on Pay. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://www.bellgully.co.nz
[6] Wilkinson, K. (2009). Parental leave payments increase. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://beehive.govt.nz
[7] Bell Gully; Inland Revenue, Paid parental leave (For individuals and families). Retrieved 14 September, 2009, from http://www.ird.govt.nz
[8] Wilkinson
[9] NZPA
[10] Department of Labour. (2006). Department of Labour Annual Report 2006: Case Study 3 – Paid parental leave benefits real New Zealanders. Retrieved from http://www.dol.govt.nz/publications/general/ar0506/05-case-study3.asp
[11] New Zealand Legislation. (2009). Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Rate of Parental Leave Payment) Regulations 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://www.legislation.govt.nz
[12] Wilkinson, K.
[13] Families Commission. (2008). UNICEF report card highlights New Zealand’s parental leave and ECE shortfalls. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from http://www.nzfamilies.org.nz
[14] Fredman, S. (1997). Women and the Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 223.