Introduction

The Paternity Leave and Benefit Bill 2016 has been passed by the Dáil and includes certain amendments to the Workplace Relations Act and to records to be kept and retained for the purposes of the Workplace Relations Act and prosecutions for breaches of same. The legislation will commence on 1 September 2016. It will provide statutory paternity leave and benefit for fathers and bring Ireland in line with many other EU countries. The leave is intended to encourage and promote a more equitable division of parental responsibilities in the workplace. Announcing the introduction of paternity leave, the government also referred to the possibility of a further 2 weeks’ shared parental leave to be introduced in the next Budget.

Leave/Benefit:   

A relevant parent will be entitled to two continuous weeks’ paid leave in respect of births from September 2016. Payment will be at the rate of €230 per week, subject to a person having the appropriate PRSI contributions. This is the same as the current rate of maternity benefit. Like maternity leave, employers can top up paternity benefit if they want. It should be noted that where employers make a top up to female employees, they should ensure they do not discriminate against male employees in relation to a top up of paternity benefit.

Applicants for Paternity Leave:  

The leave is available to all fathers, including self-employed, same sex couples and those adopting. The definition of relevant parent is set out in the legislation and “relevant parent” is defined as the father of the child, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the mother. In most family circumstances, it will be the father. The leave applies to only one person, except in the case of adoption, whereby a biological father may have already taken paternity leave. In such a case, the legislation allows the subsequent adopting father to also take leave. If the baby dies or is stillborn, the entitlement to paternity leave continues and if one parent dies then the other parent inherits whatever paternity leave hasn’t been taken.

Further information

For further information please email Barry Crushell of Aperture Partners Advisory at bcrushell@aperturepartners.ie or call 01-9053503.

Please note that the material contained herein is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Reference accurate at time of publication but subject to change.