More sick days, help with childcare: What NZ employers are offering staff

Fancy some extra sick days for when your kids pick up a daycare bug? Or an on-site nanny to let you bring your kids to work with you?For some parents managing the juggle of early parenting, it might sound like a fever dream. But Stephanie Pow - whose business Crayon runs New Zealand's Parental Leave Register - says some New Zealand businesses are already offering these perks.She has released updated data for 2026 showing policy details of 370 employers that employ about one in six New Zealanders.Of those employers, 92 percent offered more than the statutory minimum leave requirement, which is 52 weeks' leave for staff who have worked for an employer at least 10 hours a week for the year before having their child.The Government offers a payment for 26 weeks, at a rate of $811.05 a week.About half the employers on the register were topping up that Government payment and 38 percent were continuing to pay a person's full salary.Pow said, over 12 months, 20 employers had introduced new policies and 29 had made improvements. Thirteen started offering between two and four weeks of paid partner's leave. Kiwibank became the first employer registered as offering leave for foetal abnormalities and postnatal depression.Eight had restricted their policies in the year. "I think that's encouraging given the environment we find ourselves in…the good news is that the vast majority kept their policy the same and certainly the number of improvements outnumbered the number of rollbacks six to one," Pow said.Pow said New Zealand was one of just three developed countries that had no provision for leave for a partner. "Having employers step up there is just as important as having them step up for primary carers."We are starting to see policies that encompass much more than that. Not just paid leave but how employees are supported before, during and after parental leave. That might include family formation, it can include pregnancy loss support, how annual leave is treated… noting that will change when the Employment Act comes into effect in two years... It can also include return to work support. That can be one of the trickiest transitions for people coming back from parental leave, what does that look like in terms of re-onboarding, coaching and the confidence piece… and dealing with sick kids."She said some employers were offering additional "use it or lose it" sick leave to help parents manage children's illnesses.Sixteen employers were helping with childcare costs, and 12 percent offered returning parents the option to work 50 percent to 80 percent of their base hours for 100 percent of their pay during a predefined ramp-up period, typically lasting one to six months.Pow said New Zealand's 26 weeks of paid parental leave was higher than the OECD average but the relatively low wage replacement rate meant the country was in the bottom quartile of what primary carers could get from the government.Some employers were requiring that staff committed to returning to work to access the additional payments. This was more common in the public sector.Amelia Hooper, head of marketing at Tax Traders, said she had benefited from her employer's generous policy.She was able to take her son with her to work two days a week because there was an on-site nanny."Parental policy is something I hadn't thought about until I was pregnant… I don't think you should have to choose between being a mum and having a career as well."She said having a supportive employer meant she had come back to work sooner than she might have if she did not have flexibility and childcare support."I'm offered a flexible return to work, the on-site nanny and children are really welcomed at work as well which is really nice."It's made it more accessible for me to come back to work, which then means they don't have to fill my position. I think it's a benefit for both people and it allows me to continue in my career."She said she had six months of full pay on leave and then if she worked 30 hours a week she was paid for 40.Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make and spend money.