Q: can Keeping in Touch Hours be paid during the extended leave period of Parental Leave? Employee has passed the 26 weeks paid parental leave period and is now into her extended leave period.

A: If you want to keeping paying hours after the 26 week period then it is not Keeping in Touch is based on an agreed term, so none of the rules of the act can be applied it is soley based on what has been agreed between the parties.

Q: Would that then mean that they have effectively come back from Parental Leave early at reduced hours?

A: If there is nothing in place and they just continued on doing keeping in touch that would be seen as a return to work but under extended leave you can agreed they do some work while still off on extended (and not a return to work) because they are not doing the job they would be normal be doing.  So you could provide a variation to agreement while off to cover the work and then when parental leave has finished to revert back to their normal position as a full return to work.