Page 44 - ITM Employee Handbook September 2020

3.9.7 Health and Safety Leave
If due to the Provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 and the Safety, Health &
Welfare at Work (General Applications) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 it is necessary to place you on
Health and Safety leave on grounds of pregnancy, recently giving birth or breast feeding you will be
paid for the first 3 days. Thereafter you may be entitled to Social Welfare Benefits.

3.9.8 Father’s entitlement to maternity leave
Fathers are only entitled to maternity leave if the mother dies within 24 weeks of the birth. In these
tragic circumstances, the father may be entitled to a period of leave, the extent of which depends on
the actual date of the mother's death. Where a father qualifies for leave under these circumstances,
he also has an optional right to the additional maternity leave.

3.9.9 Paternity Leave and Paternity Benefit
The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides for statutory paternity leave of 2 weeks. The
provisions apply to births and adoptions on or after 1 September 2016. You can start unpaid paternity
leave at any time within the first 6 months following the birth or adoption placement. You may qualify
for Paternity Benefit from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection if you have
sufficient PRSI contributions. Paternity leave days must be taken consecutively, and all dates must be
agreed with a MANAGER in advance.

3.9.10 When can employees start their maternity leave?
You can start your maternity leave up to 14 weeks before the end of the expected week of
confinement, but it must not be later than two weeks before the end of the expected week of
confinement and you must not take less than four weeks after the end of the expected week of
confinement.

3.9.11 Reduction of Working Hours to Facilitate Breast feeding
An employee who is breastfeeding will be entitled to reduce her hours by 1 hour per day for the
purposes of breastfeeding other than in the workplace, if the Company has not requested her to utilise
facilities provided by the Company. For the purposes of the 2004 Act "breastfeeding" means
breastfeeding a child or expressing breast milk and feeding it to a child immediately or storing it for
the purposes of feeding it to a child at a later time. This entitlement may be availed of for up to 26
weeks after the date of birth of the child. Such a reduction of hours will comprise of one 60-minute
period, two 30-minute periods, or three 20-minute periods as agreed with a MANAGER. Part time
employees will be entitled to a pro-rata benefit to that provided to full-time employees.

To avail of this benefit, the employee must inform a MANAGER of the intention to avail of this
reduction in hours when advising the company that she will be returning to work, i.e. not later than
four weeks before the intended return to work date. The employee should include a copy of the child's
birth certificate with such an application. The employee will remain on full pay during the period that
hours are reduced for the purposes of breastfeeding.

3.9.12 Provision of Breastfeeding Breaks
An employee who is breastfeeding will be entitled to work breaks equivalent to 1 hour per day for the
purposes of breast-feeding in a designated area in the workplace. For the purposes of the 2004 Act
"breastfeeding" means breastfeeding a child or expressing breast milk and feeding it to a child
immediately or storing it for the purposes of feeding it to a child at a later time. This entitlement may
be availed of for up to 26 weeks after the date of birth of the child. Breastfeeding breaks may be taken
as one 60-minute break, two 30-minute breaks, or three 20-minute breaks per day as agreed with a

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