If you have to take time off work because your children are sick, do you have the choice of taking unpaid leave, or do you have to take it as part of your annual holiday?
Under the Employment Relations Act a worker whose child (or any dependent) is taken ill has the right to take unpaid leave to deal with an emergency. The time doesn’t have to be taken as part of annual leave. There’s no stipulation about the length of time you can take off work in these circumstances, but two days is regarded as the maximum for any single emergency.