Calculators

NZ paid parental leave payment and shortfall

New Zealand paid parental leave: what arrives, and what is missing.

LEAD WITH THE GAP. The payment is capped, so anyone earning above roughly $42,000 receives exactly the cap and the useful figure is weekly_gap: how much less than usual arrives each week, and total_gap across the leave. Quoting only the payment answers the wrong question for most people.

Eligibility is a gate, not a reduction. It needs 26 weeks of work in the year before the due date at 10 or more hours a week. Fail either and the payment is zero, and ineligible_reason names which test failed and by how much rather than returning a bare zero.

A self-employed person is paid at least the statutory weekly minimum even when their income works out lower. An employee gets no such floor.

KiwiSaver contributions during leave are OPT IN. Someone who does nothing contributes nothing for the whole period, employer share included, so kiwisaver_total_over_leave is what opting in is worth.

The 26 week entitlement is shareable, and weeks_available_for_partner is what is left for the other parent.

post/v1/parental-leave

Request

  • Base URL: https://api.calculate.co.nz
  • URL: https://api.calculate.co.nz/v1/parental-leave
  • Auth: API key in header X-API-Key

Request body

annual_incomenumber required

Gross annual income before tax, in NZD.

employment_type'employee' | 'self_employed'

Only a self-employed person gets the statutory weekly minimum.

hours_per_weeknumber

Average hours a week. Under 10 fails eligibility.

weeks_workedinteger

Weeks worked in the 52 before the due date. Under 26 fails eligibility.

weeks_of_leaveinteger

Weeks of the 26 week entitlement taken. The balance goes to a partner.

kiwisaver_opt_inboolean

Contributions during leave are OPT IN. Doing nothing contributes nothing.

kiwisaver_ratenumber

Employee rate as a decimal.

Example request

{
  "annual_income": 80000,
  "employment_type": "employee",
  "hours_per_week": 40,
  "kiwisaver_opt_in": true,
  "weeks_of_leave": 26,
  "weeks_worked": 52
}

Response

Weekly and total payment, and the gap against usual pay.

disclaimerstring required

Scope and limits of this estimate.

Example response

{
  "disclaimer": "Estimate only. Eligibility and payment are set by the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act and administered by IRD, whose assessment is the one that counts. Does not cover preterm baby payments, keeping in touch hours, or transfers between partners. Not legal advice.",
  "result": {
    "annual_income": 80000,
    "capped_at_maximum": true,
    "eligible": true,
    "fortnightly_payment": 1622.1,
    "ineligible_reason": "",
    "kiwisaver_employee_weekly": 28.39,
    "kiwisaver_employer_weekly": 28.39,
    "kiwisaver_opted_in": true,
    "kiwisaver_total_over_leave": 1476.11,
    "ordinary_weekly_pay": 1538.46,
    "self_employed_minimum_applied": false,
    "total_gap": 18912.7,
    "total_payment": 21087.3,
    "weekly_gap": 727.41,
    "weekly_payment": 811.05,
    "weeks_available_for_partner": 0,
    "weeks_of_leave": 26
  }
}

Changes

No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.