Significant improvements have been made in the entitlements to both paid and unpaid leaves in recent years, including by extending paid parent's leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during their earliest years.
The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks after the return to work, which have been extended to two years following the birth of the child through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Furthermore, since 20 November 2024, employees can postpone their maternity leave if they require ongoing treatment for a serious health condition as set out in the Maternity Protection, Employment Equality and Preservation of Certain Records Act 2024.
While the Maternity Protection Acts 1994-2004 do not explicitly refer to multiple births, the entitlement arises from the pregnancy and confinement, which are treated as a single event, regardless of the number of children arising. This applies also to the unpaid leave. This is because maternity leave is primarily intended to provide the mother the necessary time to rest and recover from the birth.
While the Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 limits parent's leave to a single birth, since August 2024 the entitlement is nine weeks of paid leave for each relevant parent for each child, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child.
Under the Parental Leave Acts, 26 weeks unpaid leave can be taken by an employee who is a relevant parent to take care of a child. The upper age limit of the eligible child has been increased in 2019 to the age of 12 or of 16, where the child has a disability or long-term illness which allows a parent more time in which to avail of the extended leave entitlement. This leave entitlement is for each eligible child.
S.7(3) of the Parental Leave Acts also provides that the amount of parental leave in the case of more than one child is limited in a particular year, unless the children are of a multiple birth in which case this limit does not apply.
The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to examine the possible extension of Parents Leave and Benefit and additional flexibilities. Presently, the next National Strategy for Women and Girls is in development and will consider ways to support working families in balancing the competing demands of family and work.
Family leave provisions are kept under review to ensure that they are effective and respond to the needs of families. Family leave entitlements are also mindful of the impact of the leaves on workplaces.
