Page 41 - O'Shea Group EHB May 2019

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 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

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