Bill to Extend Unpaid Parental Leave to Six Months

Share
Last updated: September 27th, 2023

A bill has been introduced to the Dáil Éireann which if enacted will extend unpaid parental leave to six months.

At present in Ireland, an employee that has twelve consecutive months service is entitled to 18 weeks parental leave per child. The 18 weeks leave needs to be taken before the child’s eighth birthday, or where the child has a disability or long-term illness, before the child’s sixteenth birthday.

Where an employee does not have twelve months’ service and their child is soon approaching their eighth birthday, the employee is entitled to take one week’s leave per month of service, once they have three consecutive months service with their employer.

Parental leave is available for each child, including each child of a multiple birth and both parents qualify for the leave. Where both parents work for the same employer one parent may transfer up to 14 weeks parental leave to the other parent, subject to employer approval.

Under the current legislation, the 18 weeks per child may be taken in one continuous period or in separate blocks of a minimum of six weeks. If an employee opts to take the leave in six week blocks there must be a gap of at least 10 weeks between the periods of parental leave.

It is at the discretion of the employer whether or not they allow employees to take the leave in days or hours.

TD Róisín Shortal highlighted that the average parental leave in other states is 86.9 weeks.

She said “Parental leave is paid in a majority of other European Union countries and only six EU countries, apart from Ireland, do not allow for income replacement when taking parental leave”. “The Bill would begin the process of bringing Ireland closer to European norms.”

If the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017 is passed it will extend the 18 weeks parental leave to 26 weeks for all parents.

A Government spokesperson has said the government will not oppose the bill.

We will keep you updated on any further developments relating to the extension of parental leave.

If you have any questions in relation to parental leave please contact the advice line on +353 1 886 0350

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Latest Resources

Employer’s guide to lay-off in Ireland

lay-off in Ireland
It’s common for businesses facing a downturn in trade to let employees go on a temporary basis. As an employer, you may also need to […]
Read

Long-term sickness absence: When to conduct an informal welfare meeting

Everyone gets sick, so short-term sickness absence is something all employers will have to deal with from time to time and tends to cause minimal […]
Read

Notice periods: an employer’s guide

Notice periods: an employer’s guide
Notice Period: Within a business, it’s constantly necessary to re-evaluate and adjust workforce planning. Whether this is due to employees looking for different career paths […]
Read
View more articles

Sign up to our Newsletter

Graphite White Logo

Graphite HRM
Block W,
East Point Business Park,
Dublin 3,
Ireland

Tel: 01 886 0350

 

Unit 5,
Citylink Business Park,
Albert Street,
Belfast,
BT12 4HQ,
Northern Ireland

Tel: 028 90 32 5495

26/27 South Mall,
Cork City,
County Cork,
Ireland

Tel: 01 886 0350

Call Us Now
01 886 0350

Email Us
info@graphitehrm.com
Twitter Linkedin-in Facebook-f Instagram Youtube

Olga Shevchenko

Director/Advocate, Immigration Advice Bureau

Olga Shevchenko specialises in immigration advocacy and consultancy, in particular, employment permit, visas, family reunification, citizenship, etc, for those seeking to visit, reside or invest in Ireland.

Olga provides extensive information, knowledge, and support to her clients, enabling access to positive solutions for people struggling to handle the immigration law.

Minister Neale Richmond

Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Neale Richmond TD was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and Retail Business and the Department of Social Protection in January 2023.

Much of his work at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is with businesses, workers, their representative bodies and the State Agencies to ensure that the economic recovery and growth extends to all parts of the country. He works closely with the SME sector, including retail, on building resilience and on the transition to the green and digital economies.

Mark Carpenter

Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Sky

Mark Carpenter is Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs at Sky Ireland. In this role he has responsibility for External and Internal Communications, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs and the company’s ‘Bigger Picture’ (CSR) programme. He also works closely with Sky Group teams on a variety of matters, in particular our partnerships with domestic broadcasters.

Prior to working at Sky, Mark worked as a Policy Officer in Houses of the Oireachtas and as a Management Consultant at Accenture. He has a BA in History from Oxford University and a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Nora Cashe

Litigation and Compliance Manager, Peninsula

Nóra studied Law in Griffith College Dublin and qualified as a Barrister in 2008, practising in the area of Criminal law. She is also member of the Irish Employment Law Association.

Nora has extensive experience representing clients at Employment Tribunal hearings, Conciliation / Mediation meetings before both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. 

Nóra is a member of the Irish Employment Law Association and engages with the WRC Adjudication Service as part of their stakeholder engagement forum.

Deiric McCann

Managing Director, Genos International Europe

Deiric McCann leads Genos International Europe – The EU division of a world-leading provider of emotional intelligence solutions. 

With over two decades experience at the highest levels of management, Deiric supports clients to develop the resilience, emotional intelligence, psychological safety and engagements of their employees.

Rhiannon Coyne

Senior HR Consultant, Graphite HRM

Rhiannon Coyne is a Senior HR Consultant at Graphite HRM and will be providing an overview of best practice on how to deal with complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace. 

With a number of recent updates to employment laws, Rhiannon will take a closer look at employment equality and how it is interlinked to Health & Safety and what employers can learn from recent case laws.

David Begg

Chairman, Workplace Relations Commission

David Begg was appointed Chairperson of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in January 2021.

David is also a professor at Maynooth University Institute of Social Sciences. Mr Begg’s extensive history in the trade union movement included leading the ESB Officers Association and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, stepping away from the latter in 2001 to chair international aid agency Concern.

David Begg was also previously a director of the Central Bank of Ireland between 1995 and 2010.