Common Parental Leave Questions
There are several different types of leave available to parents in Ireland. What employees are entitled to depends on their circumstances.
- Maternity leave: If employees become pregnant while in employment, they may be entitled to maternity leave. While employers don’t have to pay employees during this time, they might be eligible for maternity benefit for the first 26 weeks. They are also entitled to an extra 16 weeks of unpaid maternity leave
- Paternity leave: New parents are entitled to 2 weeks paternity leave from employment or self-employment following the birth or adoption of a child. Employers do not have to pay for this leave but employees may be eligible for paternity benefit
- Adoptive leave: One parent of the adopting couple or a parent who is adopting alone is entitled to 24 weeks of adoptive leave, beginning on the day the child is placed with them. Employers do not have to pay an employee for adoptive leave but they may be entitled to adoptive benefit. They are also entitled to an extra 16 weeks of unpaid adoptive leave
- Parent’s leave: Parents of children under two and parents of adopted children in the first two years of adoption are entitled to seven weeks paid parent’s leave
- Parental leave: Each parent is entitled to 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave before a child is 12 years of age
Rights as a parent
Before employees apply for time off work, it is important to understand what their entitlements are.
Under Irish law, parents are allowed to take unpaid leave from their job to look after young children. This is called parental leave. Employees can take up to 26 weeks off work for each eligible child. Parental leave is to be used only to take care of the child concerned. If it is taken and used for another purpose, the employer is entitled to cancel the leave.
What is parental leave?
Under Irish law, parents are allowed to take unpaid leave from their job to look after young children. This is called parental leave. Employees can take up to 26 weeks off work for each eligible child. This includes parents, adoptive parents and ‘in loco parentis’ (that means they take the role that would usually be fulfilled by a parent).
Parental leave is available for each child up until their 12th birthday. This may be extended in the following circumstances:
- If the child was adopted between the ages of 10 and 12, employees can take the leave that they were entitled to up to two years after the date of the adoption order
- If the employee's child has a disability or long-term illness, then they may take leave up until they are 16 years of age
- If illness or another incapacity stopped an employee from taking the leave before the child reached the age limit, an extension may be allowed
Do employees get paid while on parental leave?
Employees are not entitled to pay or pension contributions from their employer while on parental leave. They are also not entitled to social welfare payments. Taking this leave does not affect any of the other employment rights.
Employees can get credited PRSI contributions while taking leave. The employer must write to the Records Update Section of Department of Social Protection (DSP), detailing the weeks the employees have not worked, so that they can get credited PRSI contributions for this time.
Is there a limit to how much leave employees can take?
If employees have more than one child, they are only entitled to take 18 weeks total in a 12-month period. However, this can be extended if the employer agrees. If an employee has twins or triplets, they are allowed to take more than 18 weeks of parental leave in a year.
If employees work part-time, their entitlement to leave is reduced on a pro-rata basis.
As the legislation only sets out the minimum entitlement is in terms of how many weeks are available to take, employers can have a greater amount than this in the contract.
Do employees have to take all of their leave at once?
No, but employees are allowed to do that if they want to. They can also take it in two separate blocks but must take at least six weeks in each block. There must be a gap of at least 10 weeks between the two periods of leave per child.
However, if the employer agrees, the leave can be separated into periods of days or even hours.
Are partners entitled to the same amount of leave?
Both parents are entitled to their own 26 weeks of parental leave. If employees both work for the same employer and the employer agrees, one employee can transfer 14 weeks of their leave entitlement to each other.
What happens if an employee gets sick while on parental leave?
Parents who fall ill while on parental leave are allowed to suspend the leave for the duration of their illness, but only if that illness leaves them unable to care for the child.
They will have to provide their employer with written notice and relevant evidence of the illness to their employer as soon as is reasonably possible in order for the leave to be suspended.
What happens to employees' annual leave?
During parental leave, employees are regarded as still working for employment purposes and so they can still build up annual leave entitlement. If their annual holidays fall during the period of leave, then they can take them at a later time.
If a public holiday falls while they are off and it takes place on a day when they would normally be working, it is added to their period of leave.
Can employees return to their old job after time off?
Employees are entitled to return to their job unless it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to allow them to return to do so. In this instance, employees must be offered a suitable alternative on terms no less favourable compared with the previous job, including any improvement in pay or other conditions which occurred while on parental leave.
When they return to work, they are entitled to ask for a change in the work pattern or working hours for a set period. Employers must consider their request and respond within four weeks but is not obliged to grant it.
Employees who take parental leave are protected by law from unfair dismissal.
What happens if employees switch jobs?
If employees change their job and have used part of the parental leave allowance, they can use the remainder after one year of employment with the new employer, provided the child/children are still under the qualifying age.
How should employees apply for parental leave?
In general, employees must have been working for the employer for at least a year to get the full amount of parental leave. To apply, they need to:
• Give notice in writing
• Inform the employer at least six weeks before the leave is due to start
• Include the start date, the way the leave will be taken and the duration of the leave
• Sign a confirmation document between the employer/employee confirming the details of leave at least four weeks before the leave is due to start
Can an employer say no?
Employers can only deny the request if employees do not meet the criteria to be eligible for leave.
If an employee has been working for the employer for anywhere between three months and a year, they may still qualify for pro-rata parental leave if the child is very near the age threshold. This allows employees to take one week of leave for every month of employment completed.
Can an employer postpone my parental leave?
An employer may also postpone the leave for up to six months, but this must be done before the confirmation document is signed. After six months, the leave cannot be postponed without further written agreement; grounds for such a postponement include lack of cover or the fact that other employees are already on parental leave.
Normally only one postponement is allowed, but it may be postponed twice if the reason is seasonal variations in the volume of work.
