Page 44 - Zeus Employee Handbook

You should advise a MANAGER as soon as possible that you are pregnant, have given birth in the last
6 months or are breast feeding to allow adequate protection to be provided to you.

If your job is identified as carrying any risk for you or your unborn child, you will be notified
immediately, and arrangements will be made to remove you from those risks. This may mean that
your working conditions are altered or that you are offered another more suitable job for the duration
of your pregnancy. If neither of these options is possible the Company is obliged to suspend you on
full pay until you are no longer at risk. If you have any concerns about your own health and safety at
any time you should speak to you’re a supervisor or a MANAGER immediately.

3.10 PARENTS LEAVE

Parent’s leave entitles each parent to 2 weeks’ leave during the first year of a child’s life, or
in the case of adoption, within one year of the placement of the child with the family.

You may also qualify for a payment called Parent’s Benefit during parent’s leave.

Each parent is entitled to 2 weeks paid parent’s leave for a child born or adopted on or
after 1 November 2019. Currently parent’s leave is 2 weeks, but it may be increased in the
future (up to a maximum of 9 weeks).

Parent’s leave is available to both employees and people who are self-employed. Parent’s
Benefit is paid while you are on parent’s leave from work if you have enough social
insurance (PRSI) contributions. If you are self-employed you should apply directly to the
Department of Employment and Social Protection (DEASP) for Parent’s Benefit at least 6
weeks before you intend to take parent’s leave.

Please note that your employer does not have to pay you while you are on parent’s leave,
although some employers may ‘top-up’ your parent’s leave. If you qualify for Parent’s
Benefit, you will get €245 each (Feb 2020)

3.10.1 What is the difference between parental leave and parent’s leave?

Parental leave entitles parents to take unpaid leave from work to spend time looking after
their children. Currently both parents can take up to 22 weeks parental leave and from 1
September 2020, this will increase to 26 weeks. You can get more information in our
document on parental leave.

Parent’s leave is specifically for parents during the child’s first year.

Paternity leave is specifically for new parents (other than the mother) in their child’s first 6
months.

Other statutory entitlements available for parents are maternity leave and adoptive leave.

This table explains the differences between the types of leave for parents.

Page 43 of 74