Parents Leave
Parents leave is one of the newest statutory entitlements for parents. For any child born or adopted on or after 1 November 2019 each parent is entitled to a two weeks paid parents leave in the first year of a child’s life. To get paid during this period the employee must have enough PRSI contributions to avail of “Parents Benefit”. The benefit is paid at the same rate as Maternity and Paternity Benefit which is approximately €245 per week. This benefit is paid from the department of employment affairs and social protection. Self employed workers can also avail of this benefit. This leave is not transferrable between parents, except in specified circumstances for instance if one parent dies. This leave is in addition to your existing maternity leave, adoptive leave, paternity leave and parental leave rights to each “relevant” parent as defined in the Parental Leave and Benefit Act 2019. You are obliged to give a minimum six weeks’ notice to your employer prior to taking this leave. The employee has a right to return to work after parents leave on the same terms and conditions as before. The aim of this leave is to enable a parent to spend more time with and to provide and assist in the provision of care for their child during the first year of their lives.
Paternity Leave
For births or adoptions on or after 1 September 2016 new parents (however a mother of the child cannot avail of this relief) can avail of paternity leave for two weeks. This leave must be used within 26 weeks following the birth or adoption of a child. Under this leave your employer is not obliged to pay an employee, paternity benefit is paid by the department of employment affairs and social protection if you have enough PRSI contributions, which is approximately €245 per week. This entitlement also applies to self employed workers. The paternity leave and benefit act 2016 define “a relevant parent” for the purposes of parental leave entitlement. This entitlement applies to all employees regardless of how long they have been working for the employer. You must notify your employer a minimum of four weeks prior to taking the leave. Employers must keep records of parental leave taken by their employees for a minimum of eight years. An employee’s public holiday and annual leave entitlements are not affected by an employee taking this leave. An employee is entitled to return to work on the same terms and conditions before they took the leave.
Parental Leave
Parental leave The Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019 brought about several changes to parental leave in Ireland. Since 1 September 2019 parental leave was extended by four more weeks to twenty-two weeks per child. This leave will be further extended on the 1 September 2020 when it will be extended by a further four weeks to twenty-six weeks per child. Both parents can apply for this leave. The qualifying age for children has increased from eight to twelve years, for children whose parents qualify for unpaid parental leave. Parents apply for parental leave through their employer. If you work part-time then the period of leave is calculated on a pro rata basis. This leave can be taken in one continuous period or in two separate blocks (minimum six weeks each, or subject to employers consent it can be taken in days or hours). If a child suffers for a disability or long-term illness parental leave for that child can be taken up to the age of sixteen. This leave is unpaid leave from work to enable an employee to look after their young children. An employee on paternal leave is deemed for all purposes, other than the right of remuneration and superannuation benefits, to be in employment and therefore does not affect their public holiday or annual leave entitlements. An employee is entitled to credited PRSI contributions from the department of social protection .Parents who have already taken some or all the previous eighteen weeks paternity leave before 1 September 2019 and who have children up to twelve years of age are still entitled to take the extra four weeks leave granted under this act.
For full details on all your statutory entitlements contact please contact Carter Anhold & Co. on 0719162211 and we will be delighted to assist you with your query.
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