Page 18 - IMO Consultant Guide

The Consultant Guide

to you four weeks in advance of the proposed dates. Your chosen dates of Parental leave cannot be
postponed twice.
While parental leave is unpaid, annual leave and bank holidays are accrued on parental leave.

If you have already availed of some or all of your parental leave entitlement under the old rules (18
weeks) you are entitled to avail of the rest provided your child is still eligible under the criteria.
Force Majeure Leave

Force majeure leave entitles you to leave for emergency family reasons only. The entitlement is three
days in any twelve consecutive months, or five days in any three-year period. It is rare the annual
entitlement would be exceeded due to the nature of the leave.
Force majeure leave is granted, where for urgent family reasons, owing to illness or injury of a person,
the employee must be unavoidably unavailable for work. While the leave is an entitlement under the
Parental Leave Act, it extends application to the following persons; spouse, siblings, parents,
grandparents, a person to whom the employee is in place of the parent.

As this leave is assigned in emergency circumstances, you may request the leave from your employer
after it has been taken. You are expected to apply as soon as is reasonably possible, typically when
you return to work. Please note that it may be subject to review by the employer depending on the
circumstances. In an application you should outline your details, the date requested and your
relationship to the person who was ill or injured. Your employer may request any relevant certificates
for file.

There are separate provisions for bereavement leave, for information on this type of leave, please
contact the IMO.

Carer’s Leave
You may be entitled to up to one hundred and four weeks of carer’s leave under the Carer’s Leave Act
(2001). This unpaid leave is for employees who need to provide care for a relevant person who needs
full-time supervision.

The leave may be applied to be taken consecutively or in periods of no less than thirteen weeks at a
time. The person in need of care does not have to be a family member.

Your employer does not grant this leave, applications are made to the Department of Employment
Affairs and Social Protection and a deciding officer is appointed. However, employers may deny
requests for periods less than 13 weeks.

If the leave is granted, you must provide your employer with six weeks notice prior to the
commencement date and four weeks notice prior to your return to work date. Your employer should
in turn provide you with written acknowledgement of the leave at least two weeks prior to the leave.

During carer’s leave, annual leave and bank holidays are accrued for the first thirteen weeks only.

Red Weather Event

Since November 2019, in the event that there is a Red Weather Warning issued by Met Eireann, you
may be entitled to emergency paid leave.

Employees can apply for one day of emergency paid leave where weather conditions prevent you from
safely travelling to your place of work during a notified red weather alert. Your manager must be
satisfied that all reasonable efforts have been made to attend duties. If the red weather alert occurs

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