Parent's leave

Parent’s leave is an entitlement separate from maternity leave. You cannot commence parent’s leave while you are on maternity leave, but you can start it from the day maternity leave ends. You must make a separate application for parent’s leave. 

An employer can postpone parent’s leave when they feel it would have a ‘substantial adverse effect on the operation of their business, profession or occupation’. 

Reasons for postponement can include: 

 
(a) The seasonal variations in the volume of work 
(b) The unavailability of another person to carry out the duties of the employee during the leave period 
(c) The nature of the duties referred to in (b), 
(d) Staffing levels over the period of the requested leave 

 
If your employer intends to postpone your requested leave,  they must let you know in writing no later than four weeks before the intended start date of the leave. The leave cannot be postponed for more than 12 weeks after the requested start date, and the new date must be agreed by both of you. Before postponing the parent’s leave with a written notice, the employer must consult with the employee. The notice must contain a statement summarising the grounds for postponement. The leave cannot be postponed more than once. 

An employer cannot penalise, or threaten an employee with penalisation, for proposing to take parent’s leave or for taking parent’s leave. 
Penalisation includes: 

 
(a) dismissal, or threat of dismissal  
(b) unfair treatment including selection for redundancy or unfavourable change to terms and conditions 

 
If you feel you have been penalised for taking parent’s leave or it has led to your dismissal, you can make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission under the Unfair Dismissal Act (1977). 

Where a relevant parent dies, a surviving parent is entitled to  transferred parent’s leave to provide or assist in providing care for the child. This leave can be taken for a period of two weeks or for the amount of leave the deceased parent did not take. 

To apply for transferred parent’s leave you must notify your employer in writing. This notification must be given no later than six weeks before the intended start date of the transferred parent’s leave. 

In your notification, mention: 

(i) the death of the relevant parent 
(ii) your intention to take transferred parent's leave 
(iii) the length of leave you are entitled to 

If requested by the employer, a copy of the death certificate may need to be provided. 

An employer cannot refuse parent’s leave, but they can postpone it.   

The death of the child does not affect the entitlement of the parent to parent’s leave (once it is taken within the timeframe and they qualify as a relevant parent. This applies even where  the employee has not provided written notice of their intention to take the leave. 

Parent’s leave must be taken in minimum blocks of at least one week. These weeks can be combined up to a maximum of seven weeks. 

There is no statutory requirement for employees to be paid by their employer during a period of parent’s leave. However, parents may be eligible for Parent’s Benefit which is payable by the Department of Social Protection, provided that PRSI contribution conditions have been met.  

• A parent of the child 
• A spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the parent of the child  
• A parent of a donor-conceived child as provided for under section 5 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 
• The adopting parent or parents of a child 
• The spouse or civil partner of the adopting parent of the child (if the parents have not adopted the child together). 

You should apply in writing to your employer six weeks before the date you intend to start the leave, setting out the expected start date and duration of the leave. In circumstances where your employer is not the employer of the other parent taking maternity or adoptive leave, you must include appropriate certification confirming pregnancy and the estimated delivery date, or in the case of adoption the certificate of placement. 

If your child is hospitalised and you want to postpone your parent’s leave, either if it has already started or before it starts, you must put the request in writing to your employer. Your employer is not obliged to grant the request.