Are you able to take Parent leave, paternity leave and parental leave after your child’s birth.All you want to know about social welfare entitlements after childs birth.

We know that we have different types of entitlements from the goverment after our child’s birth. its always been a question pondering our mind whether we can get the benefit from all these after the child birth.

Parent’s Leave

Parent’s leave entitles each parent to 5 weeks’ leave during the first 2 years of a child’s life, or in the case of adoption, within 2 years of the placement of the child with the family.

Each parent is entitled to 5 weeks paid parent’s leave for a child born or adopted on or after 1 November 2019. The leave period remains the same in the case of multiple births, for example if you have twins or if you adopt 2 or more children at the same time.You can take 5 weeks together or take separate weeks of leave

You may also qualify for a payment called Parent’s Benefit during parent’s leave. Parent’s leave is available to both employees and people who are self-employed. Parent’s Benefit is paid while you are on parent’s leave from work if you have enough social insurance (PRSI) contributions. If you are self-employed you should apply directly to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for Parent’s Benefit at least 6 weeks before you intend to take parent’s leave.

Please note that your employer does not have to pay you while you are on parent’s leave, although some employers may ‘top-up’ your parent’s leave. If you qualify for Parent’s Benefit, you will get €245 each week.

Parental Leave

Parental leave entitles parents to take unpaid leave from work to spend time looking after their children. You can take up to 26 weeks’ parental leave for each eligible child before their 12th birthday. In general, you must have been working for your employer for at least a year to get the full amount of parental leave. You must give your employer at least 6 weeks’ notice before taking parental leave.Generally you must have been working for your employer for a year before you are entitled to parental leave. However if your child is very near the age threshold and you have been working for your employer for more than 3 months but less than one year you can take pro-rata parental leave.

Paternity Leave

Paternity Benefit is €245 a week, for two weeks.

Paternity Benefit is a payment to employed and self-employed people who are:

  • on paternity leave from work
  • covered by social insurance (PRSI)

It is available for any child born or adopted after 1 September 2016

If you are already on certain social welfare payments, you may get half-rate Paternity Benefit. You will be paid for two weeks. You can start paternity leave at any time within the first 26 weeks after the birth or adoption.Paternity Benefit is available to same-sex couples.

Usually, fathers take paternity leave. Paternity benefit is also available to same-sex couples. You can read more about who can take paternity leave in ‘Rules’ below.

Your employer does not have to pay you during paternity leave, but you may qualify for Paternity Benefit.

All employees (including part-time and casual workers) who are relevant parents can take 2 weeks’ paternity leave from employment. It is not affected by how long you have been working for the employer or how many hours you work a week. If more than one child is born or adopted at the same time (such as twins), you can take only one single period of 2 weeks’ paternity leave.Your employer may continue to pay you in full when you are on paternity leave. They may require you to have your Paternity Benefit paid to them, and you can choose to do this.

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