Budget 2019 to include paid leave for both parents
There has been significant legislative activity this year in the area of family-friendly employment benefits. Draft legislation is under review in the Dáil which if enacted, would allow pregnant employees to share ordinary maternity leave with the father of the child, her spouse, civil partner or cohabitant. Separately, an extension to existing parental leave entitlements is also receiving legislative attention.
In addition to both these pieces of draft legislation, the Government looks set to introduce a measure in this year’s budget which will provide two weeks’ paid parental leave to both the mother and father (including adoptive parents and persons in loco parentis) of newborn children.
Details remain unclear
Precise details of the budgetary policy have not been released but reports indicate that the new parental leave entitlement will incorporate the following features:
- A two-week period of paid parental leave.
- Benefit to be in line with existing maternity benefit of €240 per week.
- Must be taken within the first year of the infant’s life.
- Non-transferable, each parent must use their own allocation or forfeit it.
- New entitlement will be in addition to existing maternity, paternity, adoptive and parental leave entitlements.
A report earlier in the year indicated that the proposed paid parental leave initiative would commence with two weeks’ paid parental leave with further incremental increases year on year.
Equalise parental leave entitlements to tackle the gender pay gap
The issue of equalising parental leave entitlements is also intertwined with the gender pay gap. Peninsula made submissions to the Department of Justice and Equality last year setting out how Irish employers can contribute to tackling Ireland’s continuing gender pay gap. Our submissions included data confirming that men work more hours than women which greatly distorts the mean annual and monthly earnings between men and women.
The status quo whereby women receive a far greater entitlement to maternity leave perpetuates the notion that family responsibilities should predominantly be taken up by women. In the absence of more flexible parental leave entitlements or increased paternity leave entitlements, women are forced to demand more flexibility to combine work and family responsibilities which of course means women represent a far greater proportion of employees who work part-time.
One of Peninsula’s key submissions included introducing measures to encourage male employees to play a more active role in family-related responsibilities. This was done in order to reduce any negative impacts of maternity leave on women’s contributions to business over time and to redress the average annual working hours of women as compared to men.
EU commitments
Earlier this year, the European Council agreed on a general approach to the EU Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers. The aims of the directive include improving access to work-life balance arrangements such as parental leave for parents and carers, tackling the gender pay gap and equalising the distribution of work and childcare commitments between both parents.
Social Protection Minister, Regina Doherty, has stated that the introduction of the paid parental leave measure will allow the state to comply with its EU commitments to improve work-life balance between both parents.
Employer benefits: Think long-term
The EU envisages that the widening of family-friendly work practices will have significant benefits for businesses as more women in the labour market will increase the available talent pool, reduce skills shortages, allow businesses to attract and retain workers and decrease absence levels. As Ireland is currently one of only 6 EU member states that does not provide paid parental leave, employers can expect to see employees gain more family-friendly benefits in the short to medium term. While the proposed changes may cause initial disruption, the long-term benefits should ultimately allow employers to operate more diverse and successful organisations.
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