Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016
Number 11 of 2016
PATERNITY LEAVE AND BENEFIT ACT 2016
REVISED
Updated to 1 July 2022
This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts up to and including the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (14/2022), enacted 30 June 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 (Section 31) (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 361 of 2022), made 30 June 2022, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.
Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to
revisedacts@lawreform.ie.
Number 11 of 2016
PATERNITY LEAVE AND BENEFIT ACT 2016
REVISED
Updated to 1 July 2022
CONTENTS
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title and commencement
4. Voidance or modification of certain provisions in agreements
Paternity Leave
6. Entitlement to paternity leave
8. Allocation of paternity leave
9. Commencement of paternity leave (early confinement)
10. Postponement of paternity leave
11. Postponement of paternity leave in event of sickness of relevant parent
12. Postponement of paternity leave in event of hospitalisation of child
13. Relevant parent to whom section 16 of Act of 1994 applies
14. Relevant parent to whom section 9 of Act of 1995 applies
15. Entitlement of employed surviving parent to leave on death of relevant parent
Employment Protection
19. Preservation or suspension of rights while on paternity leave
20. Voidance of certain purported terminations of employment, etc.
21. Extension of certain notices of termination of employment or of certain suspensions
22. Protection of employees from penalisation
23. General right to return to work on expiry of paternity leave
24. Notification of intention to return to work
25. Postponement of return to work
26. Provisions applying where employee not permitted to return to work
Resolution of Disputes
27. Disputes regarding entitlements under Act
28. Decision under section 41 or 44 of Act of 2015
Paternity Benefit
30. Amendment of section 39 of Act of 2005
Miscellaneous
32. Amendment of Schedule 3 to Redundancy Payments Act 1967
33. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1977
36. Amendment of section 126 of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997
Acts Referred to
Adoption Act 2010 (No. 21)
Adoptive Leave Act 1995 (No. 2)
Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 (No. 9)
Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (No. 24)
Civil Registration Act 2004 (No. 3)
Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 (No. 46)
Employment Equality Act 1998 (No. 21)
Industrial Relations Act 1946 (No. 26)
Interpretation Act 2005 (No. 23)
Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37)
Maternity Protection Act 1994 (No. 34)
Medical Practitioners Act 2007 (No. 25)
Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 (No. 4)
Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict., c. 93)
Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 (No. 29)
Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 (No. 45)
Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012 (No. 13)
Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (No. 21)
Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2014
Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26)
Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39)
Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 (No. 10)
Workplace Relations Act 2015 (No. 16)
Number 11 of 2016
PATERNITY LEAVE AND BENEFIT ACT 2016
REVISED
Updated to 1 July 2022
An Act to entitle certain employees who are relevant parents in relation to a child to employment leave for the purposes of enabling the employee to provide, or assist in the provision of, care to the child or to provide support to the relevant adopting parent or mother of the child, as the case may be, or both; to entitle a surviving parent to employment leave on the death of a relevant parent; to extend the protection against unfair dismissals conferred by the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977; to provide for the payment of paternity benefit to certain persons and, for that purpose, to amend the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005; and to provide for related matters.
[27 th July, 2016]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: