ANZ worker Chloe Taylor-Dykman says the extra paid leave means she can spend more 12 months at home.

ANZ will increase paid parental leave to 26 weeks in July, two years ahead of the extension becoming law.

The country's biggest bank employs more than 8000 staff, of whom around 240 take paid parental leave each year.

Under the current employment law, workers are entitled to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave, but only 18 weeks of that is government-paid parental leave.

From July the Government will incrementally increase paid parental leave to 26 weeks by 2020.

ANZ insurance claims administrator Chloe Taylor-Dykman is expecting her first child in July and said the extra paid leave meant she could spend more time caring for her new born at home.

READ MORE:

* Paid parental leave to increase to 26 weeks

* How NZ paid parental leave compares to the rest of the world

* Paid parental leave raised

"My husband and I bought our first house three years ago and between mortgage payments and a new baby, I thought I could take only nine months off," Taylor-Dykman said.

"With the additional eight weeks I'll now be able to stretch our budget to spend 12 months at home. It'll be way less pressure."

ANDREW GORRIE/STUFF ANZ chief executive David Hisco says increasing paid parental leave is a step towards making employees feel more valued.

ANZ chief executive David Hisco said increasing paid parental leave was a step towards making staff feel more valued.

"I know those first months are important, [babies] grow and develop so quickly, so I want our staff to feel they can choose to spend time at home if they wish, with less financial strain," Hisco said.

Primary caregivers will be paid their full salary after the birth or adoption of a child.

Workers will also be able to take two weeks of paid family leave, increasing the entitlement to 28 weeks and can take a lump-sum employer contribution to reduce the impact of unpaid leave on their KiwiSaver balances, ANZ said in a statement.

Leave also accrues and workers can work a paid day every three months to remain in contact with their teams.

New parents have been legally entitled to 40 hours of paid work since 2016 to maintain contacts at work.