Queensland Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 2016 - SECT 87B

87B Flexible parental leave

(1) This section applies if—

(a) an employee is entitled to parental leave under subdivision 2 to be responsible for the care of a child of the employee; and

(b) the periods of the parental leave the employee has taken for the child, and any late term pregnancy leave the employee has taken under section 85AA , total less than 52 weeks.

(2) The maximum number of days of unpaid flexible parent leave the employee is entitled to in relation to the child is—

(a) 100 days; or

(b) if a greater number of days is prescribed by regulation, the prescribed number of days.

(3) However, the employee’s entitlement to flexible parental leave under subsection (2) ends when—

(a) the sum of the following amounts equals or exceeds 52 weeks—

(i) the total of the periods of parental leave taken by the employee for the child under subdivision 2 and any late term pregnancy leave the employee has taken under section 85AA ;

(ii) the total number of days of flexible parental leave taken in relation to the child, expressed as a notional 5-day work week in the way mentioned in subsection (4) ; or

(b) the period mentioned in subsection (6) ends.

(4) For subsection (3) (a) (ii) , the number of days of flexible parental leave taken by the employee is expressed as a notional 5-day work week by adding 2 days of notional weekend for each 5 days of leave taken.

(5) The employee’s flexible parental leave under subsection (2) may be taken—

(a) whether or not the employee has taken any of the parental leave the employee is entitled to take to be responsible for the care of the child; and

(b) in an unbroken period or broken periods; and

(c) if the total period of the parental leave taken by the employee for the child concurrently with the employee’s spouse, if any, does not exceed 8 weeks—concurrently with the employee’s spouse’s parental leave for the child.

(6) The employee may take flexible parental leave within the period of 104 weeks after—

(a) the child was born; or

(b) the child was adopted by the employee; or

(c) the child started residing with the employee under the surrogacy arrangement; or

(d) the child’s parentage was transferred to the employee under a cultural recognition order.

(7) If the child and another child of the employee were born during the same multiple birth, or were adopted by the employee on the same day, the employee’s entitlement to flexible parental leave under this section—

(a) applies jointly in relation to both children; and

(b) does not apply separately in relation to each child.

(8) The employee’s entitlement to take parental leave under subdivision 2 to be responsible for the care of the child ends on the first day the employee takes flexible parental leave in relation to the child.

(9) However, subsection (8) does not affect the employee’s entitlement to flexible parental leave under this section.

(10) In this section, a reference to parental leave taken by an employee for a child—

(a) is a reference to the parental leave taken by the employee under subdivision 2 to be responsible for the care of the child; but

(b) does not include parental leave taken that is part of an extended period of parental leave agreed to in response to an application under section 73 .