First introduced in September 2016, fathers in Ireland are now entitled to apply for Paternity Leave following the birth or adoption of a child. What are your legal obligations when it comes to the Paternity Leave and Paternity Pay entitlements of your staff? We have collated an overview of everything you need to know...
Paternity Leave is governed by the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016. It is a period of two weeks leave from work following the birth or adoption of a child. This is a statutory entitlement. The leave must be taken within the six months following the birth or adoption of the child.
Relevant employees and self-employed persons are entitled to this leave. The list includes the father of the baby, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the mother or the parent of a donor-conceived child.
Where the child has been adopted, the nominated parent of a same-sex couple (the other parent will be taking the adoptive leave), or the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the adopting mother or sole male adopter will be entitled to the leave.
Employees are entitled to this leave regardless of how long they have worked for the employer and irrespective of what type of contract that they are on. The employer is under no obligation to pay the employee during this period of leave unless they have contractual policies or customs and practices which state otherwise.
The employee will be entitled to Paternity Benefit so long as they have made sufficient PRSI contributions. Where an employer has topped up the salaries of employees who are on maternity leave, the question can arise as to whether they need to top up the salaries of employees on paternity leave?
The Workplace Relations Commission has recently stated that maternity leave is afforded a very high standard of protection and it is very different to paternity leave. They went on to state that it would not be discriminatory to top up salaries during maternity leave and not to top up salaries during paternity leave. This is the first decision of its kind and is still somewhat of a grey area.
Relevant employees must notify their employers of their intention to take paternity leave no later than 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the leave. The two weeks must be taken consecutively.
The employee is also obliged to provide medical certification of the due date of the baby or confirmation of the birth of the baby. Where there has been an adoption, the employee must provide a certificate of the placement of the child. Employers must keep records of employees’ paternity leave for 8 years.
If you have any questions in relation to paternity leave entitlements, please contact our expert employment law advisors on the 24 Hour Advice Service on 01 855 5050
