parents leave

TheManDude

Hi.

Just wondering if its true that parents leave benefit will extend to 5 weeks for fathers in the next budget?

Thanks

Pawwed Rig

Not one that I have heard about specifically but it was definitely the way things were heading. That said the budget this year is unlikely to have too many give away.

The Mighty Quinn

From my understanding yes, the additional 2 weeks parents leave were being extended to 5 weeks IF you are the parent to a child that was born post November 2019, a "pandemic baby".

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0713/1153072-parents-leave/

Unfortunately as this is at state rate, and my employer does not top it up, I cannot personally afford to take the financial hit and take the leave at 245/week. Would be down about 2K if I took 5 weeks, so can't do it.

The J Stands for Jay

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

Unfortunately as this is at state rate, and my employer does not top it up, I cannot personally afford to take the financial hit and take the leave at 245/week. Would be down about 2K if I took 5 weeks, so can't do it.

How are they justifying that bit of gender based discrimination?

The Mighty Quinn

McGaggs wrote: »

How are they justifying that bit of gender based discrimination?

It's not gender based discrimination. It's at the discretion of each employer whether or not they'll top up the state payment to the employee's normal pay.

They don't top up women taking parent's leave either.

However they DO top up the full term of maternity leave and they DO top up the 2 weeks paternity leave, just not parent's leave. They are only legally obligated to hold your job open for you and allow you return to work in the same position on the same terms as you went on leave. My employer only topped up maternity/paternity leave starting in 2020. Any woman leaving on maternity leave dropped salary for 26 week to an income of 245 a week.

The J Stands for Jay

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

It's not gender based discrimination. It's at the discretion of each employer whether or not they'll top up the state payment to the employee's normal pay.

They don't top up women taking parent's leave either.

However they DO top up the full term of maternity leave and they DO top up the 2 weeks paternity leave, just not parent's leave. They are only legally obligated to hold your job open for you and allow you return to work in the same position on the same terms as you went on leave. My employer only topped up maternity/paternity leave starting in 2020. Any woman leaving on maternity leave dropped salary for 26 week to an income of 245 a week.

Sorry, misread it as paternity rather than parents' leave. Pre 2020 not topping up maternity is crazy.

The Mighty Quinn

McGaggs wrote: »

Sorry, misread it as paternity rather than parents' leave. Pre 2020 not topping up maternity is crazy.

More than one new female staff member was a little upset when she discovered..

Pawwed Rig

McGaggs wrote: »

Sorry, misread it as paternity rather than parents' leave. Pre 2020 not topping up maternity is crazy.

Not uncommon outside of large companies and public sector

Nalz

Hey lads quick one on this. My kid was born in March 2020.

So would this mean 7 weeks in total for us men? 2 weeks paternity plus 5 weeks parental, but the additional 3 can't be taken until after April 2021?

Nalz

Nalz wrote: »

Hey lads quick one on this. My kid was born in March 2020.

So would this mean 7 weeks in total for us men? 2 weeks paternity plus 5 weeks parental, but the additional 3 can't be taken until after April 2021?

Sorry bumping this one... Struggling to find clear info on it

Jayd0g

Nalz wrote: »

Sorry bumping this one... Struggling to find clear info on it

That's my understanding.

2 weeks paternity
2 weeks Parents leave to be taken within first year
From April 2021 ( or when law is updated) an extra 3 weeks parents leave available to take up until end of childs second year.

Given the government hasn't made updates yet, the current rules still apply. My assumption is that the 2 weeks parents leave for the first year need to be taken before child turns one in March.

That's an assumption in absence of further clarification from government.

Parents benefit needs to be applied for six weeks in advance.

Further info:
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/parents_benefit.html#

Jayd0g

Jayd0g wrote: »

That's my understanding.

2 weeks paternity
2 weeks Parents leave to be taken within first year
From April 2021 ( or when law is updated) an extra 3 weeks parents leave available to take up until end of childs second year.

Given the government hasn't made updates yet, the current rules still apply. My assumption is that the 2 weeks parents leave for the first year need to be taken before child turns one in March.

That's an assumption in absence of further clarification from government.

Parents benefit needs to be applied for six weeks in advance.

Further info:
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/parents_benefit.html#

So I contacted the DEASP on this, and good news, my assumption of losing 2 weeks if not used in first year after child's birth is wrong. From April 2021, once legislation is passed, there will be a 5 week parent's leave allowance available.



Provided below is the response I received when asking about this.


"
Dear ###

Unless, and until, legislation is passed for the additional three weeks Parent’s Benefit announced in the Budget, we can only work with the legislation and systems currently in place.

If a parent decides not to avail of the two weeks presently available in the first 12 months of their child’s life, these two weeks will be added to the additional three weeks in April 2021, to give them a total of 5 available weeks which must be taken before their child turns 2.

Example 1. –

Child born 01/11/2019
Parent has taken 2 weeks parents leave– 3 additional weeks will be available from April 2021 which must be taken before their child turns 2 on 01/11/2021

Example 2. -
Child born 01/11/2019
Parent has not availed of two weeks parents leave in the child’s first 12 months. Under current legislation the parent has lost their entitlement to parents However, from April 2021, parent will have an entitlement of 5 weeks, which must be taken before their child turns 2 on 01/11/2021
"

Nalz

Jayd0g wrote: »

So I contacted the DEASP on this, and good news, my assumption of losing 2 weeks if not used in first year after child's birth is wrong. From April 2021, once legislation is passed, there will be a 5 week parent's leave allowance available.



Provided below is the response I received when asking about this.


"
Dear ###

Unless, and until, legislation is passed for the additional three weeks Parent’s Benefit announced in the Budget, we can only work with the legislation and systems currently in place.

If a parent decides not to avail of the two weeks presently available in the first 12 months of their child’s life, these two weeks will be added to the additional three weeks in April 2021, to give them a total of 5 available weeks which must be taken before their child turns 2.

Example 1. –

Child born 01/11/2019
Parent has taken 2 weeks parents leave– 3 additional weeks will be available from April 2021 which must be taken before their child turns 2 on 01/11/2021

Example 2. -
Child born 01/11/2019
Parent has not availed of two weeks parents leave in the child’s first 12 months. Under current legislation the parent has lost their entitlement to parents However, from April 2021, parent will have an entitlement of 5 weeks, which must be taken before their child turns 2 on 01/11/2021
"

Cool.


So to clarify, we get:

2 weeks paternity leave

AND

5 weeks parental

Jayd0g

Nalz wrote: »

Cool.


So to clarify, we get:

2 weeks paternity leave

AND

5 weeks parental

Yes.

TheBoyConor

I can never understand this paternity leave business at all.
Over the summer in work there there was a few weeks where I was calling about 3 different people only to be told "oh no, they are off on paternity leave". I was like christ, are all these fellas after taking up beast feeding or what?

eviltwin

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I can never understand this paternity leave business at all.
Over the summer in work there there was a few weeks where I was calling about 3 different people only to be told "oh no, they are off on paternity leave". I was like christ, are all these fellas after taking up beast feeding or what?

Men wanting to spend time with their children. What’s wrong with that?

TheBoyConor

eviltwin wrote: »

Men wanting to spend time with their children. What’s wrong with that?

Most aren't. They are just taking it as a day off and go to the pub or play golf or whatever and leave herself to mind the child just like every other day. That's my experiences of it anyway.

And to be realistic about it, what would a man know about caring for a new born baby. They wouldn't have a clue what to do and they are not mentally wired for it anyway.

eviltwin

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Most aren't. They are just taking it as a day off and go to the pub or play golf or whatever and leave herself to mind the child just like every other day. That's my experiences of it anyway.

Not in my experience but there you go. Might as well take it if it’s there. No one will ever get to the end of their life wishing they’d spent more time at work.

eviltwin

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Most aren't. They are just taking it as a day off and go to the pub or play golf or whatever and leave herself to mind the child just like every other day. That's my experiences of it anyway.

And to be realistic about it, what would a man know about caring for a new born baby. They wouldn't have a clue what to do and they are not mentally wired for it anyway.

It’s not rocket science. I’d say you’re from the generation where you didn’t go near a child until it could talk. Things are different for younger parents.

Anyway parental leave doesn’t just cover newborns, it can be taken up to the age of 12 I believe. Lots of reasons you might need to take it.

Outkast_IRE

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I can never understand this paternity leave business at all.
Over the summer in work there there was a few weeks where I was calling about 3 different people only to be told "oh no, they are off on paternity leave". I was like christ, are all these fellas after taking up beast feeding or what?

This is the most ignorant post i have come across in a long while.

Unfortunately due to no fault of our current generation the crazy house prices, rent and cost of living vs average wage has resulted in the majority of families requiring both parents to work full time once the 6 month paid maternity period is up.

In decades gone past this would certainly of not been the case. A single modest income could hold cover a household, not with any great luxuries but certainly doable.

Both parents working and juggling infants / children is very time consuming, stressful and costly for all involved. So i would in no way shape or form begrudge any parents of availing of the maximum leave and more. As far as im concerned the 6months for the mother is too little and the 2 weeks for the father is a shambles for what is a life changing event.

To add insult to injury there are plenty of creches and childcare options that do not want to take the child until they are approaching 1 year old causing further issues.

The government has made a bit of a balls of it right now by having all different types of leave paid and unpaid you currently have - Maternity, Paternity, Parents & Parental .

Sarn

The two weeks paternity leave was really good for us. It allowed us both to get used to looking after the baby. Mother’s don’t have inherent knowledge on how to do it all!

It takes the pressure off the mother to try and do everything. In the case of a c section there’s no heavy lifting or driving for 6 weeks, with limited chores. Having the partner around eases the pressure. Even more helpful if there are other little ones around!

The Mighty Quinn

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Most aren't. They are just taking it as a day off and go to the pub or play golf or whatever and leave herself to mind the child just like every other day. That's my experiences of it anyway.

And to be realistic about it, what would a man know about caring for a new born baby. They wouldn't have a clue what to do and they are not mentally wired for it anyway.

This can't actually be a serious post. You must be trolling.

TheBoyConor

I have colleagues who have treated their paternity leave as just time off like a holiday. Young enough guys but old school traditional types in their mindset.

The Mighty Quinn

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Young enough guys but old school traditional types in their mindset.

That's called being a shit dad. Not 'traditional'. It's shunning your responsibilities and being unfair to the mother.

CarPark2

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Most aren't. They are just taking it as a day off and go to the pub or play golf or whatever and leave herself to mind the child just like every other day. That's my experiences of it anyway.

And to be realistic about it, what would a man know about caring for a new born baby. They wouldn't have a clue what to do and they are not mentally wired for it anyway.

New mothers and fathers generally don't know much, they have to figure it out. It is much easier to do that together. If bottle feeding, that can be split and gives the new mother a chance to recover from giving birth. If breast feeding, the father can look after everything else and allow the mother to basically just feed herself (food he prepares), feed the baby and sleep the rest of the time.

We had children before paternity leave was available and i saved up my annual leave and took it at the time. We also had a child after paternity leave was in place and i used that to extend the time i could spend at home. At that stage i was able to take care of the older kids, do school drop offs etc. etc., so my wife could just concentrate on the newborn.

All of my friends did the same thing. I don't know of anybody who used the time to go golfing or drinking. Why would you want to? Not to be too soppy, but a new baby is the most incredible experience you can have. Why would anybody want to miss those first few weeks and spend the time golfing?

eviltwin

TheBoyConor wrote: »

I have colleagues who have treated their paternity leave as just time off like a holiday. Young enough guys but old school traditional types in their mindset.

Nothing traditional about that. Paternity leave might be a relatively new concept to some but a hands on dad isn't. Lots of dads of older kids would have banked their holidays so they could be at home to help out or just, you know, enjoy time with their new baby.

Some people are just sh!t parents and partners. Nothing to be proud of. Leaving your other half to do everything while you fcuk off to the pub or golf course is not something I'd aspire to.