Leave

This section outlines the legislation governing statutory leave entitlements such as annual leave, maternity, adoptive, parental, paternity and carer's leave. A number of publications are also available to member companies which provide comparative statistics on the provision of company benefits such as maternity benefit pay, additional annual leave, compassionate leave and career breaks.

Assigning benefits for Good Friday and Easter Monday 2018

27/03/2018 - Good Friday, Easter Monday and revisiting common queries on St Patrick’s Day. We review some frequently asked questions in relation to Good Friday and Easter Monday. We also revisit the topic of St Patrick’s Day and how employers should deal with public holidays that fall on a weekend.

Allocating benefits for St Patrick’s Day and Good Friday 2018

21/02/2018 - St Patrick's day falls on a Saturday this year and changes in legislation have removed the ban on the sale of alcohol on Good Friday. This may result in uncertainty when allocating benefits and creating rosters for these days. See our guidance note for assistance.

Assigning public holiday benefits and annual leave for Christmas and New Year 2017/2018

13/12/2017 - It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and therefore it is the time of year that employers should be aware of how to allocate public holidays and annual leave in a fair and compliant manner. See our festive fact sheet to find out how to do this.

Latest Ibec research on leave arrangements

08/06/2017 - Latest Ibec research on leave

Maternity benefit - recent Ibec survey data

07/06/2017 - Data was collected in our conditions of employment survey 2016 on whether a top-up is provided to employees on maternity leave, over and above social welfare benefit. We also collected data on how this top-up is provided to employees. The attached documents set out details of the full findings.

June Public Holiday FAQ's

01/06/2017 - This is a collection of frequently asked questions to help employers understand their obligations regarding the June public holiday entitlement.

Paternity Leave Report 2016

22/02/2017 - Ibec's research team have compiled a report on paternity leave arrangements. A total of 373 companies provided information on conditions of employment in 2016. Over a third (37%) of participating companies pay over and above social welfare benefit to employees on paternity leave. The tables in the attached document provide details on paternity benefit.

Pattern of significant awards for pregnancy and maternity related discrimination continues apace

27/01/2017 - Pregnancy related discrimination is discrimination on the ground of gender and includes recruitment, promotion and general conditions of employment. Women who are pregnant or have recently given birth are also protected under maternity protection and unfair dismissals legislation.

Carer's Leave FAQs

26/01/2017 - The Carer's Leave Act 2001 entitles an employee with 12 months continuous service to take up to 104 weeks leave to provide full time care to a person requiring. Can the employee work part-time during the period of protective leave and if so, is their employer obliged to make part-time hours available to them? For the answer to this and other frequently asked questions on the topic, access our FAQ document.

Easter holidays 2016 to 2022

15/11/2016 - This document outlines the Easter Holidays for the years 2016 to 2022, including Good Friday, which is a bank holiday and Easter Monday, which is a public holiday.

Saint Patrick’s Day Public Holiday 2017

15/11/2016 - Entitlement to the Saint Patrick’s Day public holiday benefit under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997

Paternity Leave FAQ's

29/09/2016 - The Paternity Leave and Benefits Act 2016 commenced on 1 August 2016. The Act provides statutory paternity leave to a relevant parent in relation to a child born or placed (in the case of adoption) on or after 1 September 2016. See our FAQ document below.

Assigning public holiday benefits this Christmas and New Year

14/09/2016 - Assigning public holiday benefits this Christmas and New Year

Annual Leave & Public Holidays FAQs

15/07/2016 - With the Christmas holiday season fast approaching, it’s a busy time for annual leave requests. Planning and coordinating leave requests can be a headache. Can an employer implement a ‘use it or lose it’ policy for annual leave? Or what happens if a request for annual leave is declined but the employee announces that he’s taking the time off anyway? If you’re confused about what to do, our Annual Leave & Public Holidays FAQ document will clarify the legal situation on these questions and more…

Maternity and adoption leave guideline

10/06/2016 - This guideline includes advice on implementing the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 and Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005.

Carer's leave guideline

09/06/2016 - This guideline includes legislation governing the Carer's Leave Act 2001, abuse of leave, protection of employee rights and sample forms.

Parental and force majeure leave guideline

09/06/2016 - Understanding your obligations and an employees entitlement to parental leave and force majeure leave under the Parental Leave Acts 1998 to 2006.

Annual leave and public holidays guideline

19/05/2016 - This guideline is an indispensable reference document on annual leave and public holidays set out by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.

The consequences of giving an employee the incorrect or no public holiday entitlement

19/08/2015 - There are nine public holidays in Ireland. Part III of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 provides for employees' entitlements in respect of public holidays. What happens when a company realises that it has been applying an employee's public holiday entiltlement incorrectly under the Act? What are the exposures for the company? The Act makes it clear and case law re-affirms that the compensation that may be awarded to employees is not limited to the monetary value of the public holidays concerned.

Pregnancy and risk assessment

27/04/2015 - Employers have a legal duty to protect pregnant employees and their developing child from any work related risks. Many hazards in the workplace can affect the health and safety of pregnant employees and their unborn child therefore, working conditions which may normally be considered as acceptable, may no longer be suitable when an employee is pregnant.

Force majeure leave refresher

23/04/2015 - Force majeure leave should be viewed as a formal leave entitlement, which arises only in exceptional circumstances to allow an employee to take a very short period of paid leave in response to a family emergency due to sudden injury or illness. When faced with a request for force majeure leave, the key considersations are was the situation urgent, was it immediate and was the employee’s presence indispensable?

Parental leave FAQs

25/02/2015 - Parental leave FAQs

Managing pregnancy at work – the research

23/09/2013 - The Equality Authority and HSE have published research carried out by the ESRI on Pregnancy at Work: A National Survey. This examines the experience of women at work in Ireland during pregnancy and after childbirth.

Managing the health and safety of pregnant employees in the retail sector: guidelines to positively manage and support pregnant employees

23/09/2013 - Ibec produced best practice guidelines and a training module on managing the health and safety of pregnant employees, particularly in the retail sector. These guidelines detail how to carry out a risk assessment and support and manage pregnant workers, particularly in the retail sector.