With effect from 1 September 2016, new parents (other than the mother of the child) are entitled to paternity leave from employment or self-employment following birth or adoption of a child. Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides for statutory paternity leave of 2 weeks. The provisions apply to births and adoptions on or after 1st September 2016. You can start paternity leave at any time within the first 6 months following the birth or adoption placement.

Payment during paternity leave

Your entitlement to pay and superannuation during paternity leave depends on the terms of your contract of employment. Employers are not obliged to pay employees who are on paternity leave. You may qualify for Paternity Benefit from the Department of Social Protection if you have sufficient PRSI contributions. However an employee’s contract could provide for additional rights to payment by the employer during the leave period, so that, for example, the employee could receive full pay less the amount of Paternity Benefit payable.

Who is eligible

Under the Act, a “relevant parent” for the purposes of paternity leave entitlement includes:

• The father of the child
• The spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the mother of the child
• The parent of a donor-conceived child

In the case of an adopted child, the relevant parent includes:

• The nominated parent in the case of a married same-sex couple or
• The spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the adopting mother or sole male adopter

The entitlement to 2 weeks’ paternity leave from employment extends to all employees (including casual workers), regardless of how long you have been working for the organisation or the number of hours worked per week. If more than one child is born or adopted at the same time, for example, twins, you are only entitled to a single period of 2 weeks’ paternity leave.

Taking paternity leave

You can choose to take paternity leave at any time in the 26 weeks following the birth or adoption. You must notify your employer in writing that you intend to take paternity leave and provide your intended dates no later than 4 weeks before your leave. You will be required to provide a certificate from your spouse or partner's doctor confirming when your baby is due, or confirmation of the baby’s actual date of birth if you apply for leave after the birth has occurred.

In the case of adoption, you must produce a certificate of placement in relation to the child.

Postponing paternity leave

The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides for postponement of paternity leave. For example, if the birth is later than expected or if the date of placement of an adopted child is postponed, you may postpone the date of the leave.

Under Section 11, if you are sick before your paternity leave starts, you may postpone the paternity leave until you recover. You should notify your employer in writing and provide evidence of your illness.

If your baby is hospitalised, you can ask your employer in writing if you can postpone all or part of your paternity leave.

Public holidays and annual leave

Apart from pay and superannuation, time spent on paternity leave is treated as though you have been in employment and this time can be used to accumulate annual leave and public holiday entitlement.

Death of a parent

In certain circumstances, fathers are entitled to maternity or adoptive leave if the mother dies. The extent of this period of leave depends on the actual date of the mother’s death. The leave starts within 7 days of the mother's death.

If the father has not already taken paternity leave, he may take it at the end of this maternity or adoptive leave.

If the parent entitled to paternity leave dies, their paternity leave may be transferred to the employed surviving parent.

Employers

Employers must keep records of paternity leave taken by their employees. These records must include the period of employment of each employee and the dates and times of the leave taken. Employers must keep these records for 8 years.

Returning to work

Under the Act, you are entitled to return to work to the same job with the same contract of employment. Section 23 of the Act states that, if it is not reasonably practicable for your employer to allow you to return to your job, then they must provide you with suitable alternative work. This new position should not be on terms substantially less favourable than those of your previous job.

You are protected against penalisation and unfair dismissal for claiming your rights under paternity leave legislation.

Taxation of Paternity leave

Revenue released a PAYE Notice to Employers on 3rd August 2016 containing information on the taxation of Paternity Benefit payable in respect of births or adoptions occurring on or after 1st September 2016.

The total amount of Paternity Benefit is liable to income tax, but is not liable to PRSI or USC. Revenue will receive details of Paternity Benefit payments directly from the DSP. Revenue will tax Paternity Benefit by reducing the employees SRCOP by the amount of the benefit and by reducing the employee's tax credits by 20% of the amount and a revised tax credit certificate (P2C) will be issued to the employer. This P2C will generally issue on the Week 1 Basis.  

Employers should not tax Paternity Benefit through their payrolls nor should the amount be included on a P45, P60 or P35L in respect of the employee.

Paternity Benefit is a new payment for employees (primarily fathers) who qualify for paternity leave and who meet the qualifying PRSI conditions. It is also available to self-employed individuals. It applies in respect of children born or adopted on or after 1st September 2016.

An application for Paternity Benefit must be made online through MyWelfare. An individual can only access MyWelfare if he has created a MyGovID account which can be created at www.mygovid.ie. Once registered for MyGovID, the individual will have access to MyWelfare. The individual will also need to have a Public Services Card in order to claim Paternity Benefit.

If you have any queries in relation to the above or indeed are interested in outsourcing the payroll function of your business contact us on 021 4641400 or email info@quintas.ie