Page 41 - O'Kelly Sutton Employee Handbook June 23 Revision 2 2020
P. 41

In order to avail of paid time off as specified above, you must notify the Company of the appointment
               as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than two weeks before the date of the appointment
               unless this is not possible through no fault of your own.

               You should advise a MANAGER that you will be absent as far in advance of your appointment as
               possible and you may be asked to produce your appointment card.

               3.9.4 Minimum maternity leave
               You are entitled to a 26-week period of minimum maternity leave irrespective of your length of service
               or the number of hours you work each week. During this minimum maternity you may be entitled to
               Maternity Benefit (MB) from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

               3.9.5 Extension of maternity leave
               Where your date of confinement occurs after the expected date of confinement (as defined in the
               Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 the minimum period of maternity is extended if necessary by
               up to four weeks to ensure that you have four weeks of maternity leave after the birth of your child.

               3.9.6 Additional maternity leave
               You are also entitled to take a further period of 16 weeks’ unpaid maternity leave, irrespective of
               whether you have taken an extension of maternity leave, but this period is not covered by maternity
               benefit either from social welfare or from the company.

               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  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.

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