Parental Leave, Maternity Protection and Part-time Work: Should New Zealand Learn from the German Approach Regarding Family-friendly Labour Market Policy?

Abstract

The paper deals with the parental leave and part-time-work policy in Germany and New Zealand. As nowadays, men as well as women often want to/ have to work and want to raise a family, the possibilities of working part-time and taking parental leave are very important. However, many employers do not want to offer part-time work on a voluntary basis. Regarding a certain period of complete leave of the employees after birth, there are normally no obvious advantages for employers at all. Another important issue is the payment during parental leave. Therefore, the states have to offer appropriate legal solutions that consult the interests of both sides and support parents. After a short overview about international provisions regarding parental leave and part-time work, the paper examines how Germany and New Zealand have reacted to this challenge and compares the two approaches. The New Zealand legislation regarding part-time work and parental leave is not sufficient. In particular there should be more support for parents who want to work part-time and there should be an extended period of paid leave including increased rates of payment. Despite the different ‘legal origins’ and differences in economy and wealth of Germany and New Zealand, New Zealand should at least consider to adopt some basic German ideas in order to improve the level of support for employees with children.