Page 44 - ITM Tech Draft Employee Handbook v.1

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.

Leave Who gets it? How long? Is it paid?

26 weeks and Yes, Maternity
Maternity
Female employees up to 16 Benefit is paid for
leave
unpaid weeks 26 weeks

24 weeks and Yes, Adoptive
Adoptive Adoptive mothers, Men
up to 16 Benefit is paid for
leave adopting alone
unpaid weeks 24 weeks

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