Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016

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Number 11 of 2016

PATERNITY LEAVE AND BENEFIT ACT 2016

CONTENTS

PART 1

Preliminary and General

Section

1. Short title and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Regulations

4. Voidance or modification of certain provisions in agreements

5. Expenses

PART 2

Paternity Leave

6. Entitlement to paternity leave

7. Notification to employer

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

16. Abuse of paternity leave

17. Maintenance of records

PART 3

Employment Protection

18. Interpretation (Part 3)

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

PART 4

Resolution of Disputes

27. Disputes regarding entitlements under Act

28. Decision under section 41 or 44 of Act of 2015

29. Burden of proof

PART 5

Paternity Benefit

30. Amendment of section 39 of Act of 2005

31. Paternity benefit

PART 6

Miscellaneous

32. Amendment of Schedule 3 to Redundancy Payments Act 1967

33. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1977

34. Amendment of Act of 1994

35. Amendment of Act of 1995

36. Amendment of section 126 of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

37. Amendment of Act of 2015

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

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: