ERA examines whether the IRD website provided ‘unclear guidance’ about work requirements
A mother who continued working for four weeks after giving birth sought a review of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) decision to decline her parental leave payment application.
She argued the IRD (Inland Revenue) website provided unclear guidance about the requirement to stop work immediately, while MBIE maintained the eligibility criteria were clearly stated and rigidly applied under the legislation.
The worker gave birth to her child on 25 August 2024 and had been working part-time during her pregnancy.
Before the birth, she reviewed information on the IRD website regarding requirements to receive paid parental leave and advised her employer she would keep working part-time after the birth but would resign if it became too difficult to manage.
She says she could see nothing on the IRD website indicating there was a problem with this approach.
The worker continued to work after the birth of her child, but soon found this too exhausting.
Four weeks after the birth, she resigned from her employment, and a few weeks later, she applied for parental leave payments.
IRD declined her application on 10 October 2024 on the basis that she had not stopped work when her child was born, meaning she was not entitled to receive parental leave payments under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987.
The Authority...
Denton Loudermill Jr. watched every Kansas City Chiefs game at his sister's house with his family. The Kansas native and his late father were diehard fans. So, when the 2024 Super Bowl champions' ...