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Library of Knowledge No. 81

What is Parents Leave?

Parent’s leave entitles each parent to 9 weeks’ leave (increased from 7 weeks on 1^st August 2024) during the first 2 years of a child’s life, or in the case of adoption, within 2 years of the placement of the child with the family.

The additional 2 weeks’ parent’s leave can be claimed if the child was under the age of 2 on 1^st August 2024 or your adopted child had been placed with your family less than 2 years on 1^st August 2024. 

This extra leave must be taken on or before your child’s second birthday or within 2 years of the adoption placement.

The employee receives Parents Benefit from department of Social Protection of € 274 per week, where they have enough PRSI contributions.

Employers do not have to pay employee’s whilst on parent’s leave, although some employers may ‘top-up’.

At least 6 weeks written notice must be provided to the employer.

Leave can be for one continuous period of 9 weeks or separate periods of not less than one week.

Who can take parent’s leave? Who is a relevant parent?

A relevant parent is one of the following:

• A parent of the child
• A spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the parent of the child
• A parent of a donor-conceived child as provided for under section 5 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015
• The adopting parent or parents of a child
• The civil partner or spouse of the child’s adopting parent (if the parents have not adopted jointly).

For further details see:

https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/leave/parent-s-leave/

Where to apply:

https://www.gov.ie/en/service/b321b1-parents-benefit/