Paternity Benefit, does your company top it up?

davo2001

As the title says, does your company topup your paternity benefit? I was talking to HR about it and she says she has never heard of a company that does.

I find that hard to believe, surely if the same company will topup maternity benefit they should (although I know they are not legally obligated to) topup paternity benefit too?

bovril

Yes my company does up to 80% of salary. This is the same for women pn maternity leave. They are topped up to 80%. They pay the same to both for equality reasons. Have a look in the company handbook or hr documentation. Mine is a small Irish company in case that makes a difference.

davo2001

Thanks, our company handbox doesn't mention anything about paternity benefit, only maternity.

I've already been told it is not being topped up, which is fine, I just thought it was a bit bizarre.

bee06

My company does and adds extra time on top of the 2 weeks also at full salary.

denismc

My company gives 2 weeks full pay less what you get from the social.
I know of another company that gives 6 weeks paternity!
The multinationals seem to be generous when comes to paternity/ maternity leave.
My wife's company on the other hand only gives her statutory maternity benefit so it all depends which company you work for.

bovril

davo2001 wrote:

Thanks, our company handbox doesn't mention anything about paternity benefit, only maternity.

You could question why it's given for maternity and not paternity in the interests of equality in the workplace.

Lia_lia

The company I work in pays 6 weeks full paternity pay. So does the company my OH works in. This is only in the last couple of years for both places. Can be used anytime within the year the baby is born I think.

It used to be 3 days at my workplace...pretty big jump! Both multinationals.

shesty

Ours does.Your HR is either lying, or they don't get out much .. iI'd say any company who wants to avoid ending up in court at some point should have a policy in place, either that it's topped up the same as mat pay or whatever.Having nothing at all is probably leaving a company open to trouble.

jh79

I'm getting no top up whatsoever, 240 euro per week from social welfare is all i'm getting.

denismc

shesty wrote: »

Ours does.Your HR is either lying, or they don't get out much .. iI'd say any company who wants to avoid ending up in court at some point should have a policy in place, either that it's topped up the same as mat pay or whatever.Having nothing at all is probably leaving a company open to trouble.

Legally the company is only obliged to give statutory paternity benefit of 240 euro/week. Statutory maternity benefit is also 240 euro which is what my wife gets.
Now if your company is giving a top-up to maternity benefit and not to paternity benefit then you could argue that their policies discriminate against men.

BizzyC

Paternity is paid 100% salary for the 2 weeks in my place.
Maternity is topped up to different scales and duration based on tenure.
I've heard fewer stories of companies that don't provide some sort of top up than those that do.

splinter65

The employer is not paying anything.
SW pay the Paternity/Marernity Benefit, like any other Benefit.
If a company tops up Benefit of any kind it is at their own discretion but the Eqaulity Authority would be very interested if it was only topped up for one gender.

Mitzy

The company I work for gives 4 months fully paid paternity leave!

heroics

I get paid the same salary less what I get from social welfare. This is the same as they do for maternity leave. It is US MNC if that makes a difference.

From an article in the examiner

"CIPD Ireland, which represents HR and learning/development professionals, has more than 5,000 members and did a survey soon after paternity leave came on stream. It found 42% of employers topping up paternity benefit. "

however just did a quick google and found this case last year https://www.williamfry.com/newsandinsights/news-article/2017/09/22/failure-to-top-up-salary-during-paternity-leave-not-discriminatory-finds-wrc

If my employer was topping up maternity leave and not paternity leave I'd be absolutely arguing with HR and it would probably be a reason for me to move companies.

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Mitzy wrote: »

The company I work for gives 4 months fully paid paternity leave!

Wow, can you say who it is?

Mitzy

Damari Defeated Torpedo wrote: »

Wow, can you say who it is?

No I'm afraid I can't name the company but it's a US Tech company

awec

Topped up to 100% here.

Apiarist

Our [multinational] company tops up to full pay for the first week (nice!). The second week is just the statutory benefit (damn bean counters!).

shesty

denismc wrote: »

Legally the company is only obliged to give statutory paternity benefit of 240 euro/week. Statutory maternity benefit is also 240 euro which is what my wife gets.
Now if your company is giving a top-up to maternity benefit and not to paternity benefit then you could argue that their policies discriminate against men.

Yes I know that.What I meant was (and sorry, my post wasn't clear), that companies should have a policy in place by now, and it should most likely match their maternity leave policy, or it is possible they could find themselves the subject of a discrimination lawsuit.Be it that they top both up, or only do statutory leave pay or whatever.
Then again maybe they won't because it's only for a fortnight I suppose.But they would be leaving themselves a bit exposed I'd imagine.

denismc

shesty wrote: »

Yes I know that.What I meant was (and sorry, my post wasn't clear), that companies should have a policy in place by now, and it should most likely match their maternity leave policy, or it is possible they could find themselves the subject of a discrimination lawsuit.Be it that they top both up, or only do statutory leave pay or whatever.
Then again maybe they won't because it's only for a fortnight I suppose.But they would be leaving themselves a bit exposed I'd imagine.

If you look at post number 15 in this thread there is a link to a case a male employee took at the WRC for the reasons you suggested, unfortunately he lost.
The law does seem a little bias in this instance and maybe needs updating.

shesty

Interesting.I'm sure it's only a matter of time before a different outcome is had.You would hope anyway.

The J Stands for Jay

davo2001 wrote: »

As the title says, does your company topup your paternity benefit? I was talking to HR about it and she says she has never heard of a company that does.

I find that hard to believe, surely if the same company will topup maternity benefit they should (although I know they are not legally obligated to) topup paternity benefit too?

My employer does. When considering it, they realised they couldn't do it for maternity and not for paternity.

rainbow kirby

My husband's company topped him up to full pay for the 2 weeks of paternity leave both times.