Mothers of Premature Babies to Be Given Extended Maternity Leave

Last updated: September 4th, 2023

The Government have announced that mothers of premature babies will receive additional maternity leave from 1st October 2017. Maternity leave is governed by the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 – 2004. At present, a pregnant employee is entitled to a basic entitlement of 26 weeks maternity leave, known as ordinary maternity leave, as well as an additional 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave, known as additional maternity leave.

 

Pregnant employees are required to take a core period of leave that includes two weeks before the end of the expected week of confinement and four weeks after birth. Expectant mothers are required to give their employers a minimum of four weeks’ written notice of their intention to take maternity leave.

 

Previously, in cases of premature birth, the employee was required to notify her employer in writing and the 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave commenced from the date of birth. However as a result of the mother’s leave starting from the date of birth, by the time some women got to bring their baby home from the hospital, their ordinary maternity leave was almost over.

 

The new arrangement will mean additional maternity leave for mothers of premature babies. The additional period will be from the date of birth, up to the two core weeks, mothers are obliged to take before the week of confinement. These additional weeks will be added to the mother’s 26-week entitlement.

 

What Employers Should Be Aware Of

 

During maternity leave, employees have the right to benefit from their normal contractual terms and conditions of employment, with the exception of remuneration. This means that employees accrue annual leave and public holiday entitlements for their entire maternity leave. In cases of premature birth, employees will also enjoy the same entitlement.

 

The Department of Social Protection pay employees for the first 26 weeks of maternity leave, in some companies employers top up their employees’ maternity pay. In circumstances where employers are currently topping up maternity pay, it is advisable to do so for the additional leave taken due to a premature birth.

 

If you have any questions regarding additional maternity leave please don’t hesitate to contact the advice line on 01 886 0350

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Latest Resources

Employer’s guide to lay-off in Ireland

lay-off in Ireland
It’s common for businesses facing a downturn in trade to let employees go on a temporary basis. As an employer, you may also need to […]

Long-term sickness absence: When to conduct an informal welfare meeting

Everyone gets sick, so short-term sickness absence is something all employers will have to deal with from time to time and tends to cause minimal […]

Notice periods: an employer’s guide

Notice periods: an employer’s guide
Notice Period: Within a business, it’s constantly necessary to re-evaluate and adjust workforce planning. Whether this is due to employees looking for different career paths […]

Olga Shevchenko

Director/Advocate, Immigration Advice Bureau

Olga Shevchenko specialises in immigration advocacy and consultancy, in particular, employment permit, visas, family reunification, citizenship, etc, for those seeking to visit, reside or invest in Ireland.

Olga provides extensive information, knowledge, and support to her clients, enabling access to positive solutions for people struggling to handle the immigration law.

Minister Neale Richmond

Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Neale Richmond TD was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and Retail Business and the Department of Social Protection in January 2023.

Much of his work at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is with businesses, workers, their representative bodies and the State Agencies to ensure that the economic recovery and growth extends to all parts of the country. He works closely with the SME sector, including retail, on building resilience and on the transition to the green and digital economies.

Mark Carpenter

Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Sky

Mark Carpenter is Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs at Sky Ireland. In this role he has responsibility for External and Internal Communications, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs and the company’s ‘Bigger Picture’ (CSR) programme. He also works closely with Sky Group teams on a variety of matters, in particular our partnerships with domestic broadcasters.

Prior to working at Sky, Mark worked as a Policy Officer in Houses of the Oireachtas and as a Management Consultant at Accenture. He has a BA in History from Oxford University and a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Nora Cashe

Litigation and Compliance Manager, Peninsula

Nóra studied Law in Griffith College Dublin and qualified as a Barrister in 2008, practising in the area of Criminal law. She is also member of the Irish Employment Law Association.

Nora has extensive experience representing clients at Employment Tribunal hearings, Conciliation / Mediation meetings before both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. 

Nóra is a member of the Irish Employment Law Association and engages with the WRC Adjudication Service as part of their stakeholder engagement forum.

Deiric McCann

Managing Director, Genos International Europe

Deiric McCann leads Genos International Europe – The EU division of a world-leading provider of emotional intelligence solutions. 

With over two decades experience at the highest levels of management, Deiric supports clients to develop the resilience, emotional intelligence, psychological safety and engagements of their employees.

Rhiannon Coyne

Senior HR Consultant, Graphite HRM

Rhiannon Coyne is a Senior HR Consultant at Graphite HRM and will be providing an overview of best practice on how to deal with complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace. 

With a number of recent updates to employment laws, Rhiannon will take a closer look at employment equality and how it is interlinked to Health & Safety and what employers can learn from recent case laws.

David Begg

Chairman, Workplace Relations Commission

David Begg was appointed Chairperson of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in January 2021.

David is also a professor at Maynooth University Institute of Social Sciences. Mr Begg’s extensive history in the trade union movement included leading the ESB Officers Association and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, stepping away from the latter in 2001 to chair international aid agency Concern.

David Begg was also previously a director of the Central Bank of Ireland between 1995 and 2010.