Is it in your contract? My understanding is that if you don't get paid - you don't work. Isn't that the whole point of employment?

As for mat leave, you can change jobs and still be elligable for PPL from the government. Or do you mean your employer also pays mat leave? You need to be working for 10 of the 13 months prior to bub's birth. It need not be continuous but there needs to be no less than 8 weeks (from memory) gap between work days, and it doesn't need to be FT either.

All the best!