Western Australian Consolidated Acts

MINIMUM CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT ACT 1993 - SECT 33

33 .         Unpaid parental leave, entitlement to

        (1)         Subject to sections 35, 36(1) and 37(1), an employee is entitled to take up to 52 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave in respect of — 

            (a)         the birth of a child to the employee or the employee’s spouse or de facto partner; or

            (b)         the placement of a child with the employee with a view to the adoption of the child by the employee.

        (2)         An employee is not entitled to take parental leave unless he or she — 

            (a)         has, before the expected date of birth or placement, completed at least 12 months’ continuous service with the employer; and

            (b)         has given the employer at least 10 weeks’ written notice of his or her intention to take the leave.

        (3)         An employee is not entitled to take parental leave at the same time as the employee’s spouse or de facto partner but this subsection does not apply to one week’s parental leave taken by the employee and the employee’s spouse or de facto partner immediately after —

            (a)         the birth of the child; or

            (b)         a child has been placed with them with a view to their adoption of the child.

        (4)         An employee may request the employer to extend the period of parental leave to which the employee is entitled under subsection (1) for a further consecutive period of not more than 52 consecutive weeks.

        (5)         An employee may request the employer to extend the period of parental leave which the employee is entitled under subsection (3) to take at the same time as the employee’s spouse or de facto partner for a further consecutive period of not more than 7 consecutive weeks.

        (6)         The entitlement of an employee to parental leave is reduced by any period of parental leave taken by the employee’s spouse or de facto partner in relation to the same child, except —

            (a)         the period of one week’s leave referred to in subsection (3); or

            (b)         if a request to extend the period of one week’s leave referred to in subsection (3) is agreed to by the employer, that period as so extended.

        (7)         If a request to extend the period of an employee’s parental leave is agreed to by the employer, the reference in subsection (6) to the employee’s entitlement to parental leave is a reference to that extended entitlement.

        [Section 33 amended by No. 28 of 2003 s. 148 and 150; No. 36 of 2006 s. 37.]