Maternity Protection Act 1994

Interpretation.

2

2.(1) In this Act—

the 1977 Act” means the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977;

the 1981 Act” means the Maternity Protection of Employees Act, 1981;

the 1989 Act” means the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989;

the 1992 Directive” means Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding;

F1["Act of 2001" means the Local Government Act 2001;]

F2["Act of 2015" means the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015;]

additional maternity leave” has the meaning assigned by section 14;

associated employer” has the meaning assigned by section 27 (3);

the Authority” means the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health;

confinement” and “the date of confinement” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by section 41 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993;

contract of employment” means, subject to subsection (2)

(a) a contract of service or apprenticeship, or

(b) any other contract whereby an individual agrees with a person who is carrying on the business of an employment agency, within the meaning of the Employment Agency Act, 1971, and is acting in the course of that business, to do or perform personally any work or service for another person (whether or not that other person is a party to the contract),

whether the contract is express or implied and if express, whether it is oral or in writing;

employee”, subject to subsection (2), means a person who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, entered into or worked under) a contract of employment;

employee who has recently given birth” means at any time an employee whose date of confinement was not more than 14 weeks earlier and who has informed her employer of her condition;

F3[employee who is breastfeeding means at any time an employee whose date of confinement was not more than one hundred and four weeks earlier, who is breastfeeding and who has informed her employer of her condition;]

employer”, subject to subsection (2), means, in relation to an employee, the person with whom the employee has entered into or for whom the employee works under (or, where the employment has ceased, entered into or worked under) a contract of employment;

F2["expectant father" shall be construed in accordance with subsection (1A) (inserted by section 176 of the Act of 2015);]

job” has the meaning assigned by section 26 (3);

F1["local authority" has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2001;]

maternity leave” has the meaning assigned by section 8;

the Minister” means the Minister for Equality and Law Reform;

F2["other parent" means a person (other than the mother) who is, under section 5 of the Act of 2015, a parent of a child;]

F4["parents leave" has the same meaning as it has in the Parents Leave and Benefit Act 2019;]

F5["paternity leave" and "transferred paternity leave" have the same meanings as they have in the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016;]

pregnant employee” means an employee who is pregnant and who has informed her employer of her condition;

F6["premature birth period" has the meaning assigned to it by the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005;]

successor” has the meaning assigned by section 26 (1);

the Tribunal” means the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

F2[(1A) In this Act, a reference to an expectant father includes a person who has given his or her consent in accordance with section 11 of the Act of 2015 to a DAHR procedure (within the meaning of section 4 of that Act) where that procedure results in a pregnancy.]

(2) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) a person holding office under, or in the service of, the State (including a member of the Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces) or otherwise as a civil servant, within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956, shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the State or Government, as the case may be, under a contract of service;

(b) an officer or servant of a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941, a harbour authority, a health board or F7[a member of staff of an education and training board] shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the authority F7[or board], as the case may be, under a contract of F8[service;]

(c) in relation to an employee whose contract of employment falls (or, where the employment has ceased, fell) within paragraph (b) of the definition of “contract of employment” in subsection (1), the person who is liable to pay the employee’s wages shall be deemed to be F8[the employer; and]

F1[(d) a member of a local authority shall be deemed to be an employee of the local authority employed under a contract of service for a fixed term.]

(3) Subject to subsections (1) and (2), expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the 1992 Directive.

(4) In this Act a reference to a Part or section is to a Part or section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(5) In this Act a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(6) In this Act a reference to an enactment includes a reference to that enactment as amended by any other enactment, including this Act.

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Inserted (21.12.2022) by Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022 (52/2023), s. 1(a)(i), (ii)(III), commenced on enactment.

F2

Inserted (4.05.2020) by Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 (9/2015), s. 176(a), S.I. No. 624 of 2019.

F3

Substituted (1.07.2023) by Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (8/2023), s. 34(a), S.I. No. 341 of 2023, art. 2(b).

F4

Inserted (1.11.2019) by Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (35/2019), s. 35(a), S.I. No. 629 of 2019.

F5

Inserted (1.08.2016) by Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 (11/2016), 34(a), S.I. No. 435 of 2016.

F6

Inserted (23.12.2017) by Social Welfare Act 2017 (38/2017), s. 16(a), commenced on enactment.

F7

Substituted (1.07.2013) by Education and Training Boards Act 2013 (11/2013), s. 72(1), sch. 6 item 18, S.I. No. 211 of 2013.

F8

Substituted (21.12.2022) by Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022 (52/2023), s. 1(a)(ii)(I), (II), commenced on enactment.

Modifications (not altering text):

C2

Prospective affecting provision: functions transferred and Employment Appeals Tribunal construed by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 66, not commenced as of date of revision.

Transfer of functions from Employment Appeals Tribunal

66.(1) (a) All functions that, immediately before the dissolution day, were vested in the Employment Appeals Tribunal are transferred to the Commission in so far as they relate to any claim for redress, dispute or complaint determined by the Employment Appeals Tribunal under an employment enactment before that day.

(b) All functions that, immediately before the dissolution day, were vested in the Employment Appeals Tribunal are transferred to the Labour Court in so far as they relate to appeals determined by the Employment Appeals Tribunal under an employment enactment before that day.

(2) (a) References in any enactment or instrument under an enactment to the Employment Appeals Tribunal in so far as they relate to a function transferred by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall be construed as references to the Commission.

(b) References in any enactment or instrument under an enactment to the Employment Appeals Tribunal in so far as they relate to a function transferred by paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall be construed as references to the Labour Court.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the dissolution day.

C3

Functions transferred and references construed (14.10.2020) by Disability, Equality, Human Rights, Integration and Reception (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 436 of 2020), arts. 2, 3(1)(a), (3) and sch., in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4-8.

Note change of name of Department and title of Minister to Department of and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth made (15.10.2020) by Children and Youth Affairs (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 437 of 2020), in effect as per art. 1(2).

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any functions transferred by Article 3 are transferred to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

(2) References to the Department of Justice and Equality contained in any Act or instrument made under such Act and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) of this Article shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

3. (1) The functions vested in the Minister for Justice and Equality -

(a) by or under the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and

...

are transferred to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

...

(3) References to the Minister for Justice and Equality contained in any Act or instrument made under such Act, and relating to any functions transferred by this Article shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

SCHEDULE 1

Article 3(1)(a)

Enactments, functions by or under which are transferred from the Minister for Justice and Equality to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005

...

Editorial Notes:

E6

The Safety, Health and Welfare At Work Act 1989 was repealed and replaced (1.09.2005) by Safety, Health and Welfare At Work Act 2005 (10/2005), s. 4 and sch. 2 part 1, S.I. No. 328 of 2005.