PARENTAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT REGULATIONS *

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.78

PARENTAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT

REGULATIONS *

2nd September, 2003

LEGAL NOTICE 225 of 2003, as amended by Legal Notices 427 and 430

of 2007, 175 of 2010 and 204 of 2011.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Parental Leave

Entitlement Regulations.

(2) These regulations lay down minimum requirements

designed to facilitate the reconciliation of parental and professional

responsibilities for working parents and foster carers.

(1)

In these regulations

''Act'' means the Employment and Industrial Relations Act;

''foster care'' means a service for a determinate period whereby a

child is placed in the continuous care of a foster carer, and through

which the child is brought up in a family environment according to

his best interests;

''foster carer'' means one or more persons, approved by the

Fostering Board, to foster a child in terms of the Foster Care Act;

''pro rata'' shall have the meaning assigned to it by article 2 of

the Act

Provided that

(a) when the employee is in part-time employment on a

variable time schedule, the number of hours of work

per week shall be the average number of hours of work

per week spread over successive thirteen week periods

commencing on the first of January of each calendar

year; and

(b) when the employee has not been in part-time

employment for a period of thirteen weeks the average

number of hours of work per week shall be calculated

over the number of weeks in employment.

(2) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (1), terms and

expressions used in these regulations shall, unless the context

otherwise requires, have the meaning assigned to them in the Act.

(1) These regulations shall apply to all employees, whether

whole-time or part-time, and whether they are employed on an

indefinite or a fixed term contract

Provided that in all cases the employee has been in the

employment of the same employer for a continuous period of at

*These regulations have been repealed by Legal Notice 201 of 2022.

least twelve months

Provided further that for the purpose of calculating the

twelve month qualifying period in case of employees with a fixed

term contract

(a) when there are successive fixed term contracts with

the same employer, the sum of these contracts shall be

taken into account, and

(b) when there is a fixed term contract which is renewed

within a six month period from its termination, the

said period between the two contracts shall also be

taken into account.

(2) The minimum periods of entitlement mentioned in the

preceding subregulation shall be applicable unless a shorter period

of entitlement has been established in the contract of service of the

employee or in a collective agreement applicable to the employee.

(3) These regulations shall be applicable without prejudice to

the introduction and implementation of more favourable provisions

in collective agreements or other agreements entered into between

the employer and the employee.

PARENTAL LEAVE

(1) It shall be the individual right of both male and female

workers to be granted unpaid parental leave on the grounds of birth,

adoption, fostering or legal custody of a child to enable them to

take care of that child for a period of four months until the child has

attained the age of eight years

Provided that this right shall be granted on a non-

transferable basis

Provided further that parental leave shall be availed of in

established periods of one month each.

(2) Unless otherwise prescribed in a collective agreement

applicable to the employee, the employer together with the

employee may decide whether to grant the parental leave on a full-

time or a part-time basis, in a piecemeal way or in the form of a

time credit system.

(3) In the event that the parental leave was not availed of or

there is still an existing balance of parental leave, an employee

shall remain entitled to such leave even if there is a change in the

employer or in the employment of the employee, as long as the

employee qualifies in accordance with regulation 3.

Entitlement to parental leave by employees, shall

commence from the date when the employee provides the employer

with -

(a) evidence that the legal proceedings necessary for the

adoption to be completed in accordance with the law

have been initiated, and

(b)

(i)

a written certificate from the competent

authority, designated for this purpose by the

Minister responsible for social policy, certifying

that a positive home study report has been

completed; or

(ii) certified evidence that the couple have legal

custody of the child.

The entitlement to parental leave by employees who are

foster carers shall commence from the date when the employee

provides the employer with either official documentation provided

by the Fostering Board or by the central authority, as the case may

be, that the employee has been accepted as a foster carer, or with

official documentation provided by the Fostering Board that the

review report drawn up by an accredited agency has been accepted

by the Fostering Board in terms of the Foster Care Act, according

to whichever bears the most recent date.

(1) An employee applying for parental leave from the

employer shall be bound to give a minimum of three weeks notice

in writing, specifying the beginning and the end of the parental

leave, prior to taking such leave.

(2) An employee shall have the right to request parental leave

during the period specified in article 36(20) of the Act

Provided that when parental leave is granted during the

period specified in this subregulation, said period sh all be

considered to have been automatically suspended on the

commencement of, and during the parental leave, and shall only

resume when the employee returns to work from the parental leave.

(1) An employer who receives notice for parental leave as

prescribed in regulation 6, may temporarily postpone the granting

of parental leave for justifiable reasons related to the operation of

the place of work.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation, the term ''justifiable

reasons'' includes

(a) where the work carried out at the place of business is

of a seasonal nature;

(b) where a replacement cannot be found within the notice

period given by the employee;

(c) where the specific employment of the employee who

requests parental leave is of strategic importance to the

undertaking or place of business;

(d) where the place of business is a small enterprise

employing not more than ten people, provided that the

employer consults with the employee in order to

establish alternative dates when such leave may be

availed of, in such a way to avoid indefinite

postponement of the requested parental leave;

(e) where a significant proportion of the workforce

applies for parental leave at the same time

Provided that an employer who decides to postpone the

granting of parental leave shall inform the employee in writing of

the reasons for the postponement within two weeks of receipt of the

employee’s notice in cases provided for in regulation 6(1)

Provided further that the postponement by the employer of

the taking of parental leave is without prejudice to the employee’s

right to take the parental leave entitlement at the latest before the

child reaches eight years of age and if such postponement may

result in the loss of the parental leave entitlement or part thereof, it

shall be the duty of the employer to immediately grant parental

leave for a period equivalent to the leave still unavailed of, or for

such other lesser period as may be requested by the employee.

The employee who exercises the right to make use of

parental leave shall be entitled to return to the same job that the

employee occupied prior to the granting of parental leave, or,

where this is no longer possible for any valid reason, to an

equivalent or similar job consistent with the original contract of

employment of the employee.

(1) The employee who is on parental leave shall, during

the period of parental leave, be still entitled to all rights and

benefits which may accrue to other employees of the same class or

category of employment at that same place of work

Provided that during the period of parental leave, the

employee shall still have the right to apply for promotion

opportunities arising within the place of work.

(2) During the period of parental leave, an employee shall not,

upon the resumption of duties at the workplace, be entitled to any

other leave, bonuses or allowances and shall not avail himself of

such entitlement which might have accrued during such period.

(3) Unless the employer and the employee agree otherwise, the

employer shall not, during the period of parental leave, have the

right to suspend the parental leave and to request the employee to

return to work before the agreed date of resumption of duties, and

the employee shall have no right to return to work prior to the

agreed date of resumption of duties.

(1) Upon an employee’s return from parental leave, such

employee may request changes to his working hours and patterns

for a specific period of time. Every employer shall consider and

respond to such requests, taking into account both his and the

employee’s needs.

(2) In order to facilitate the return to work following parental

leave, both the employer and the employee concerned are obliged

to maintain contact during the period of leave and may make

arrangements for any appropriate reintegration measures, which are

to be decided between the parties themselves.

It shall not be lawful for the employer to dismiss an

employee solely because an employee takes or applies to take

parental leave in accordance with these regulations, and any such

dismissal shall not constitute a valid reason for termination of

employment, without prejudice to any justified termination of

employment as prescribed by the Act

Provided that notice of termination of employment, as

provided for in the Act may be given during the period of parental

leave

Provided further that, in the case of issuing a notice of

termination by either the employer or the employee during the

parental leave, this shall result in the automatic suspension of the

parental leave from the third working day following the date of

issue of such notice.

Every employer shall be bound to keep a record of the

parental leave granted to every employee and shall, on the demand

of the employee which may be made even after termination of

employment, deliver to the employee a written statement of the

details of the leave granted to the employee.

MISCELLANEOUS

Should a dispute arise between an employer and an

employee regarding the entitlements covered by these regulations

or any related matter, then either the employer or the employee may

refer the matter to the Director of Employment and Industrial

Relations who shall mediate between the parties.

Any person contravening the provisions of these

regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on

conviction, to a fine of not less than one hundred and sixteen euro

and forty-seven cents (116.47) and not more than one thousand and

one hundred and sixty- four euro and sixty-nine cents (1,164.69).