Keeping up-to-date with entitlements available to employees can sometimes become confusing for an employer; however one topic that often raises its head is maternity and paternity rights. Below, we dispel a few myths and put you on the right track to ensure you’re complying with relevant policies and employer obligations.


ANY FEMALE IN AN ORGANISATION IS ENTITLED TO MATERNITY LEAVE: TRUE

Maternity leave is NOT subject to when an employee joined the company, or how many hours they work. An entitlement to a basic period of 26 weeks maternity leave extends to all female employees, including casual workers. Employees can also avail of an additional 16 weeks leave which begins immediately after the end of the basic period of maternity leave.

An employee has to give their relevant manager a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy and at least four weeks written notice of their intention to take maternity leave. Should an employee intend to take the additional 16 weeks maternity leave, they must separately provide 4 weeks written notice, however both these notices can be given at the same time.

In the unfortunate event of a stillbirth or miscarriage, after the 24th week of pregnancy, an employee is still entitled to full maternity leave.

 
AN EMPLOYER HAS TO OFFER MATERNITY PAY ALONGSIDE MATERNITY BENEFIT: FALSE

Legally, employers are not obliged to pay women on maternity leave. It is important to ensure that all employment policies are in place, as an employee’s maternity entitlements to pay and superannuation during leave depends on terms of the contract of employment.

An employee may qualify for Maternity Benefit from the Department of Social Protection, and in some cases, a company will offer full pay, less the amount of Maternity Benefit payable.

If an employee decides to avail of the 16 week additional maternity leave, they will not receive Maternity Benefit, nor is an employer obliged to make any payment during this period, unless previously agreed.


PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS ARE IN ADDITION TO MATERNITY LEAVE: TRUE

Employees on maternity leave and/or additional maternity leave are entitled to leave for any public holidays.  With the exception of pay and superannuation, time spent on maternity and additional maternity leave is treated as though the employee has been in employment, and this time can be used for them to accumulate annual leave and public holiday entitlement.

If an employee becomes ill whilst on additional maternity leave, they are within their right to ask for the leave to be ended, and instead the remainder of the leave be treated as sick leave. This means the employee will not be entitled to the rest of additional maternity leave, however may receive illness benefit. It is at the discretion of the employer to agree to end additional maternity leave.

 
MATERNITY LEAVE ONLY BEGINS IN THE WEEK BEFORE THE EXPECTED DUE DATE AND ENDS WHEN THE EMPLOYEE COMES BACK TO WORK: FALSE

Employees are to take at least two weeks of maternity leave before the week ending the expected birth date and at least four weeks after. It is up to the employee how they would like to spend the remaining weeks, however generally employees take two weeks before the birth and the remaining weeks after.

An employer is responsible for allowing a pregnant employee time to attend antenatal classes and medical appointments in the run up to their maternity leave. A female employee is entitled to attend five antenatal classes without losing pay and male employees are entitled to paid time off to attend the last two classes with their partner.

Before the birth and up to 14 weeks after the birth, an employee is entitled to take reasonable time off for medical visits with two weeks’ notice. There is no minimum or maximum time given for the medical visits, and includes any time required to travel to and from an appointment. An employer can request medical appointment cards if an employee asks for time off on these grounds.

Breastfeeding mothers, who give birth not more than 26 weeks earlier, are entitled to an hour each day of paid time off for the purpose of breastfeeding. If facilities are available, the time off may be given in the actual workplace, however if this is not an option, a reduction in working hours (on full pay) may be requested by an employee to facilitate breastfeeding.

 
AN EMPLOYEE DOES NOT HAVE TO REMAIN IN THE WORKPLACE AND IS ENTITLED TO PAY IF HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT MET: TRUE

An employer is responsible for carrying out a risk assessment in relation to pregnant employees, as well as those who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding. Potential risks should be removed or the employee moved to a different location in the workplace. In some cases, these options may not be possible, which results in the employee being offered health and safety leave up until the beginning of maternity leave.

For the period of health and safety leave due to pregnancy, employers must pay their employee normal wages for the first three weeks. After three weeks, Health and Safety Benefit may be paid by the Department of Social Protection.


A FATHER IS NOT ENTITLED TO MATERNITY/PATERNITY LEAVE: FALSE

Whilst paternity leave isn’t a legal requirement in Ireland, employers can offer a new father leave, paid or unpaid, at their discretion. Annual leave taken following the birth of a child is treated in the same way as leave taken at any other time of the year. It is also at the discretion of the employer to decide who can and cannot take annual leave at any given time.

While male employees are not entitled under law to paternity leave, they may be entitled to parental leave of up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave from employment, only if they have been with the same employer for a year. Employees who avail of this leave are not entitled to any pay or social welfare benefits during this time; however it does not affect the employment rights of the employee, and when they return to the workplace, they are entitled to ask for a change in working patterns or working hours. An employer must consider the request but is not obliged to grant it.

In the regrettable case of a mother dying within 40 weeks of the birth, a male employee is entitled to a period of maternity leave. If the mother dies within 24 weeks of the birth, the father has a right to additional maternity leave, and if the mother's death is over 24 weeks from the birthdate, the father is entitled to leave until 40 weeks after the birth.


A DEMOTION OR DISMISSAL LINKED TO PREGNANCY IS DEEMED AN UNFAIR DISMISSAL: TRUE

Employees are entitled to return to work with the same contract of employment. If, for some practicable reason, it is unsafe for an employee to return to work, an employer must provide a suitable alternative to work with the position being on the same terms as the previous role.

An employee’s employment conditions cannot be worsened by the fact they took maternity leave, and if pay or other conditions have improved whilst the employee was on leave then they are entitled to these benefits when they return to work.

All dismissals connected with pregnancy are deemed to be unfair, including employees made redundant during maternity leave and those who are not offered suitable alternative employment.

Employers should review their policies to ensure that employees’ leave entitlements are adequately reflected within every area of the company.



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

Maternity leave and pregnancy in the workplace is often one of the avoided conversations by managers and business owners, and more often than not, incorrect assumptions between a manager and employee derails the career of the female and results in a loss of good talent for the company in question.

Concern about saying the ‘wrong’ thing causes both parties to avoid an open and frank conversation about managing maternity leave and parental responsibilities, which in turn makes it impossible to develop a framework that works going forward.

As we discussed in our previous blog post, attracting, developing and retaining talent is a critical success factor for businesses. Successful managers will balance family responsibilities with work responsibilities allowing others to be effective both at work and at home.

Here are 10 tips for Business Leaders Tackling the Baby Issue:

1. Have the ‘Chat’ - Not having a conversation about the impact maternity leave will have to the company will lead to incorrect assumptions and potentially misguided decisions.

2. Risk Being Frank – Discuss issues of concern openly and honestly so both employer and employee can come to an agreed plan going forward. Tough topics regarding how clients will be managed during the employee’s absence and upon their return need to be discussed to define expectations and build confidence in the professional relationship.

3. One Size Doesn’t Fit All – Every employee’s situation is unique and staff members often need different types of support or flexibility at different stages of their career. It is important to create an environment in which employees feel they can ask for certain measures to be put in place, that allow them to do their job successfully whilst managing family obligations.

4. Think Long Term – Careers may be long but the most difficult period of balancing a young family and work is relatively short-term. Consider the long term benefits to making an investment in your employees by supporting them through that tough stage, and in return, you are likely to develop a very valuable and loyal employee.

5. Family Does Not Diminish Career Prospects – Strongly communicate that employees with families will not reduce career goals by having females with families on your senior management team. This is crucial in creating employee confidence that there are still opportunities for advancement.

6. Walk the Talk – Ensure that everyone on your management team believes in the corporate culture you have created and that they understand the importance of having both males and females on the team at various senior levels in the company.

7. Incorporate Females into Company Networks – All too often, the high demands of career and family cause women to take a backseat in networking. It is important to ensure that your company looks at various ways to integrate female employees back into networking on informal and formal levels. Establishing an interest in your organisation entails being connected to the team and its success whilst also receiving acknowledgement that your input is valued.

8. Mentors are Critical to Careers – Develop mentoring and sponsorship programmes to provide career support and connect women with leadership networks. Sponsorship from senior management is an important element in everyone’s career, so encourage your leadership team to mentor both males and females in your company.

9. Support Paternity Obligations – It’s vital that your company supports men’s parental obligations too. More often than not, there are two working parents in a relationship, and so men also need to have the support to care for their children in the same way women do. Having a paternal policy in place sends a far more powerful message than a female only policy.

10. We CAN have it All – The term ‘you can’t have it all’ is thrown around quite a bit, but we should come to believe that having it all should be the norm, and not the exception. Supporting your employees will ensure that they believe they have the ability to pursue a successful career with your company whilst also raising happy and healthy families.


The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

The ability to realize the full potential of your business relies on having the right people in place, and with employing and retaining top talent being as tough as it's ever been, it’s important to have a focus and understanding of people and behaviours alongside positive engagement and reward strategies that work for best for your company.

Understandably, it’s not always easy, and so to help, we’ve included some simple steps to take towards success with employee retention strategies.

Do Your Research

Don’t hesitate to involve employees in the recruitment process as much as possible. Asking questions to find out what attracted them to your business to begin with is important to discover what motivates them and keeps them engaged, as well as giving a good indication of what potential employees may want from a career within your company.

One common mistake companies make when creating a position is to base the salary on budget rather than on the market realities, which in turn leads to unsuccessful recruitment. If the same position you are hiring for is being offered at a higher starting salary with your competition, why would someone want to accept the same position in your company for less?

Hire the Right Managers

Hiring good managers makes all the difference when recruiting for other positions in the company. Managers often have first interaction with a potential candidate and are heavily involved with the interview process, so it is critical to work closely alongside the managing team to make sure there is a constant line of communication between potential new employees and your managers. It’s imperative that managers cooperate and work positively with all employees to reduce staff turnover.

Consider Culture Fit

It is important when hiring new employees to look beyond skills and ensure that the right person on paper would also fit in with the culture of your organisation. If this isn’t considered, the employee won’t work to their maximum performance and you may have to re-employ down the line. By understanding your company culture and the team you have in place when choosing the right employee, you are more likely to have a long lasting working relationship with the person you do employ.

Lifestyle and Benefits are Important

With nearly everyone having access to a mobile, laptop and internet, it’s becoming increasingly more popular for people to work from home if the type of business allows. With many employees being just as concerned about quality of life as they are about the amount of money a position offers, look at how you can make your company more attractive to the right person for the job. If you can offer flexible working hours or work at home options, don’t hesitate to let potential employees know, as this could make a positive difference to their work/life balance.

Recognize, Reward and Reinforce Positive Performance

Money and benefits may attract people to your company, but it often takes more to stop them leaving. People have a natural human need to feel appreciated and proud of their work, and so recognising positive performance through incentive programs is essential to keeping your top talent on board.

A successful reward and recognition programme does not have to be complex to be effective. Ask your employees for their preferred means of recognition and then implement various approaches based on the feedback. It’s important to pay attention to how each employee is motivated as not all employees like to be rewarded in the same way. When the policies are in place, be sure to communicate them to potential new employees as part of your employment process.

Develop Skills and Potential

For most people, career progression is just as important as money they earn. Skilled people will not remain in a job if they see no future in their position within a company. To eliminate the sense of lack of advancement, every position should have an individual development plan.

It is important to provide training programmes and, if available, educational opportunities to your team. Communicate to potential employees how your company will set goals and provide support to help them on their desired path, whether it be through the opportunity to develop new skills, a chance of promotion, or more money after a certain amount of time on the job, and in turn attract top talent and increase engagement and retention.

Evaluate and Measure Your Workforce

Continuous evaluation and never-ending improvement is central to measuring progress and determining what satisfies and de-satisfies your team. The evaluation process consists of a number of ways to gather information, such as employee satisfaction surveys, entry and exit interviews and examining departments with high turnover rates.

There are many management strategies for attracting, engaging, and retaining employees, however these tips should serve as a good start. Know your company; have a clear employee value proposition and communicate with potential new employees early to know what they want and what motivates them. This, in turn should hopefully set you up for a successful partnership that leads to a more positive long term performance.



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.