This form is to be used by employees to apply for Maternity Leave or additional Maternity Leave.
Please note: You are required to give a minimum of four weeks notice to your employer before taking Maternity Leave. Dates of Maternity Leave should be 26 weeks. Start date of Additional (unpaid) Maternity Leave must be the day after finish date of Maternity Leave. Any additional leave e.g. Bank Holidays and Annual Leave should be taken after Additional (unpaid) Maternity Leave finishes.
Maternity Leave – Entitlements
Under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 employees are entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave. A pregnant employee can begin and end her maternity leave on any day she selects but must take:
a minimum of two weeks leave before the end of the expected week of confinement
4 weeks leave after the end of the expected week of confinement.
An employee is also entitled to take 16 weeks’ (unpaid) additional maternity leave immediately after the end of ordinary maternity leave.
Maternity Leave – Notification Requirements
An employee must notify her Department Head of her intention to take maternity leave at least four weeks before the leave is due to commence.
Application for additional maternity leave should be made either at the time of the initial application or in writing not later than 4 weeks before the end of the maternity leave.
If an employee changes her mind about taking maternity leave she may revoke the notice by sending a further written notice to her Department Head.
Payment while on Maternity Leave
While the maternity protection legislation does not protect the employee’s entitlement to remuneration during maternity leave, the health service operates a maternity pay scheme as follows:
All employees on maternity leave are entitled to their basic pay plus normal fixed allowances less any maternity benefit to which they may be entitled on foot of their social welfare contributions. (This does not include additional amounts due to nightwork, overtime, shiftwork, working unsociable hours, and stand-by or on-call allowances.)
Employees are required to make the necessary claims for maternity benefit to the Department of Social Protection within the required time limits and to comply with whatever requirements are laid down by that Department as a condition of claiming benefit. http://www.welfare.ie/en/pdf/mb1.pdf
Employees are also obliged to do the following:
Notify the HSE of the actual amount of Maternity benefit they are in receipt of
Notify the HSE of any subsequent revisions to that amount.
The HSE is not liable for any loss that an employee incurs as a result of their failure to comply with the rules governing the granting of maternity benefit as set out by the Department of Social Protection.
Travel outside of the State
As per the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection information on Maternity Benefit and the rules around Payment Abroad, EU citizens (and citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland) can get Maternity Benefit for any period of their maternity leave spent in another EU country (or in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland). EU and non-EU citizens can holiday abroad and get Maternity Benefit for a maximum of 6 weeks while away. To get Maternity Benefit while abroad, you need to inform DEASP Maternity Benefit section of your intended absence.
Ante-Natal and Post-Natal Medical
Care An employee is entitled to time off work without loss of pay to attend ante-natal and post-natal medical visits. Time off includes the time required to travel to and from the appointment. The employee must notify her employer in writing of the date and time of the appointment as soon as is practicable and in any event not later than two weeks before the date of the appointment.
Time off for Ante-Natal Classes
A pregnant employee is entitled to time off work without loss of pay to attend one set of ante-natal classes (except for the last 3 classes). This right to attend only one set of antenatal classes covers all an employee’s pregnancies while in employment. The employee must notify her or his employer in writing of the dates and times of these classes as soon as is practicable and in any event not later than two weeks before the first class. The employee is required to provide the appropriate documentation outlining the dates and time of classes.
Return to Work
The employee’s right to return to work is conditional on her giving notice in writing not later than 4 weeks before the expected return date of her intention to return to work and the expected date of return.
