New paid parental leave and benefit from November – what do employers need to know?

Advice by Alan Hickey, Associate Director at Peninsula Ireland

From November 2019, all new parents in employment or self-employment will be able to avail of a new parental leave scheme. So what do employers need to know about the new scheme and will they have to revisit existing procedures?

Additional support for new parents

Under the Parental Leave Acts, parents in employment enjoy an existing right to take periods of unpaid parental leave to care for young children. The main objective of the Parental Leave and Benefit Bill 2019 is to support new parents (in employment or self-employment) by providing a further two weeks of paid leave during the first year after the birth of a baby. Although the government has committed to extending the duration of the leave to seven weeks for each parent over the next three years, the general scheme of the Bill appears to be silent on further extension of paid parental leave.

Non-transferability

One of the government’s key aims for the new scheme is to encourage fathers to take more time off work to care for their children during a newborn’s first year. To achieve this aim, the new benefit is only available on a non-transferable and ‘use it or lose it’ basis.

The General Scheme

The general scheme of the Bill is divided into five main sections. The first section sets out the entitlement to parental leave and confirms that the parental leave scheme may be availed of by employees in addition to existing maternity, paternity and adoptive leave benefits. The second section confirms that all periods of parental leave are protected and the employment rights of employees who are absent on parental leave remain unaffected. The third section proposes a dispute resolution mechanism in line with existing procedures under the paternity leave legislation. The fourth section confirms the amount of the accompanying state benefit which will be paid at the same rate as Maternity Benefit and Paternity Benefit or €245 per week. The Bill lastly includes proposals to close a loophole in the law, which prevents male same-sex couples from receiving adoptive leave and benefit.

What does the new benefit mean for employers?

The government estimates that 60,000 parents a year will be entitled to use the new benefit. Employers will need to be prepared by 1 November 2019 to deal with employee requests to avail of this new statutory benefit. The most noticeable impact of the new benefit is likely to be an increased uptake by fathers who will be entitled to four weeks of protected paid leave from November. The general scheme of the Bill proposes that employees should make their request for parental leave in writing no later than four weeks before the leave commences. Employers will be entitled to be supplied with a statement from a registered medical practitioner confirming the pregnancy and the expected due date. Likewise, adoptive parents are required to provide a certificate of placement to their employer.

Review existing procedures

It is important that employers ensure they have adequate procedures in place to allocate, monitor and document the increasing range of state benefits available to employees. If current procedures are not keeping pace with existing family-friendly leave entitlements, it is vital to put a system in place before the introduction of paid parental leave in November.