My father-in-law tells me that he arrived at the hospital after my husband was born, he had just finished milking cows and finished up his farm jobs. My mother-in-law was there on her own for the whole labour & birth! And she had an older child who we guess was with Dad. My father-in-law popped in, met the baby, then left to go straight back to milk cows. A visit in his extended lunchtime.
Wow how times have changed! And isn’t that a good thing!
Many of us employ Dads who are far more hands on in their tamariki’s lives, sports teams, hobbies, and shared interests. So, we encourage you to offer real flexibility around this time as it makes for a much happier employee.
Likewise, when it comes to the birth of your first or fifth child, Dad wants to be there, he needs to be there and often it is an unknown timeframe.
The guidelines around parental leave entitlement are often discussed for Mums but not always so for Dads. There are a range of paid and unpaid parental benefits available to eligible parents so make sure you’re across them.
This eligibility table is a really useful resource. We encourage you to go and have a look and if in doubt, give us a call and we can guide you.