Leave entitlements for Working Parents in Ireland

Ireland has a number of leave entitlements available specifically to support working parents which all employers should be aware.

Some parents may qualify for leave under a number of different schemes.

Maternity Leave

All female employees are entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave if they become pregnant. This applies to full-time, part-time and casual employment arrangements, irrespective of how long the woman has been in employment. Maternity leave must be taken at least 2 weeks but not earlier than 16 weeks before the baby’s due date, and at least 4 weeks after the baby is born.

Employees will be entitled to Maternity Benefit for the 26 weeks of maternity leave subject to a certain level of Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions. Maternity Benefit is currently set at €250 per week. Maternity Benefit is taxable income, with tax collected by an adjustment to the employee’s tax credits and allowances.

There is no obligation for an employer to pay an employee while they are on maternity leave. Employees also have a right to take an additional 16 weeks maternity leave unpaid. Some employers may opt to pay their employees who are on maternity leave. In this circumstance, employers may reclaim the employee’s maternity benefit provided by the State.

Paternity Leave

New parents are entitled to two weeks paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. There is no obligation from an employer to pay an employee while they are on paternity leave. Paternity leave can be taken any time in the six months after the birth of a child.

In the case of adoption, paternity leave applies to the parent who is not taking adoptive leave.

Qualifying employees are entitled to paternity benefit for the two weeks leave paid by the State. Paternity leave is currently set at €250 per week. Similar to the treatment of maternity leave, employers may pay employees while they are on leave and recoup their state entitlements.

Adoptive Leave

When adopting a child, one of the adoptive parents is entitled to 24 weeks of adoptive leave, beginning on the day the child is placed with them. There is no obligation for an employer to pay an employee while they are on adoptive leave, but they may be entitled to adoptive benefit paid by the State. Employees availing of adoptive leave are also entitled to take up to 16 weeks additional unpaid adoptive leave.

Adoptive leave is currently set at €250 per week. This is only payable for the first 24 weeks after the child is placed. If leave starts after the placement date, the entitlement for the full 24 weeks is reduced accordingly. For example, if leave starts in week 3, the entitlement will only be for 22 weeks.

Employers opting to pay employees while on leave will have the same treatment as salary pay on maternity leave.

Parental Leave

From September 2020, parents and legal guardians in Ireland are entitled to 26 weeks unpaid leave known as Parental Leave. This leave must be taken before the child is 12 years old, or in the case of children with disabilities before the child is 16 years old.

Employees are required to give their employers six weeks’ notice before taking parental leave. Further, unless otherwise agreed, leave must be taken as one continuous period or in blocks of at least six weeks.

In general, you must have been working for your employer for at least 12 months to be entitled to parental leave. There is no entitlement to financial supports from your employer or the State.

Parent’s Leave

In November 2019, the Irish government introduced a new entitlement under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (and subsequently amended by the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2021). The legislation is part of the government’s commitments under the EU Work Life Balance Directive and aims to offer parents the opportunity to spend more time with young children.

Parents of children up to two years of age are entitled to an additional 5 weeks paid leave each. There is no requirement for employers to pay employees while on parent’s leave, but parents may qualify for parent’s benefit from the State, which is currently set at €250 per week. Similar to the treatment of other working parents leave, employers may opt to pay employees during this period and reclaim state benefits on their behalf.

Parent’s Leave was increased from 5 weeks to 7 weeks in Budget 2022 and applies to the parent of a child who is under the age of 2 in July 2022 or an adopted child who has been placed with the family less than 2 years as of July 2022.

Parent’s leave may be taken as one continuous period of 5-7 weeks leave, or separate periods of not less than one week. Leave cannot be transferred between parents – expect in specified circumstances such as the death of one of the parents.

Employers are required to give employers at least 6 weeks’ notice of taking leave. Employers cannot refuse a parent’s leave, but they can postpone it where they feel it would have a ‘substantial adverse effect on the operation of their business, profession or occupation’. Postponements are limited to up to 12 weeks after the requested leave date.

The introduction of parent’s leave forms part of the Government’s commitment under the EU Work Life Balance Directive.

Individuals qualifying for Parent’s Leave include:

• Parent of child

• Spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the parent of the child

• Parent of a donor-conceived child

• Adopting parent or parents of a child

• Spouse, civil partner or spouse of the adopting parent of the child (if the parents have not adopted jointly)

State Benefits

In most cases, working parents will qualify for state benefits for the periods of leave taken. It is up to the employee to apply for all benefits, directly to the Department of Employment and Social Protection. This application must include a certificate signed by the employer confirming the employee’s employment and entitlements to receive the benefit. Benefits are subject to a certain level of PRSI contributions.

Whilst there is no obligation for employers to pay employees during these periods, some employers may opt to do so. Employers who offer their employees compensation during this period may be entitled to reclaim the employee’s state benefit as result.

Example 1: Employee receives only state maternity benefit with no top-up from employer

• €250 is paid directly to the employee by the State each week

• No pay is received from the employer

• Employee retains all other employment entitlements for up to 39 weeks. Paid time off and bank holidays are accrued.

Example 2: Employee is paid X amount by employer and employee retains state benefits

• €250 is paid directly to the employee by the State each week

• X amount paid by the employer is taxable in the normal course

• Employee retails all other employment entitlements for up to 39 weeks. Paid time off and bank holidays are accrued.

Example 3: Employee is paid X amount by employer and employer retains state benefit

• €250 is paid directly to the employer by the State each week

• Employer pays employee X + Y but only X is taxable

• Employee retains all other employment entitlements for up to 39 weeks. Paid time off and bank holidays are accrued.

Revenue has supplied additional information including a number of other worked examples which are available here.

For further information on working parent entitlements contact Henry Barrett.