How Can Irish Workers Qualify for Maternity Benefit?

Maternity Benefit is an Irish social welfare payment for expectant mothers on maternity leave.

However, your employees will receive this maternity allowance only if they:

• Meet sufficient PRSI contribution conditions

• Have certified maternity leave from work

Let’s discuss these eligibility criteria in detail.

How Can Employees Qualify for Maternity Benefit in Ireland?

To qualify for Maternity Benefit in Ireland, your employees must have:

1. Sufficient Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) Contributions

PRSI is a compulsory contribution or payment to Ireland’s Social Insurance Fund and is the primary source of social welfare payments.

Your employees’ contributions depend on their salary and occupation — aka their PRSI class.

Presently, there are 11 PRSI classes covering employed and self-employed people or those working outside of Ireland. The A, E, H, and S classes count for Maternity Benefit.

Based on your employees’ PRSI class, they must have a certain number of paid social insurance contributions to qualify for Maternity Benefit.

Let’s take a look:

A. Employees

As per the Maternity Protection Act 1994, pregnant employees are entitled to maternity leave in Ireland. 

Employees taking maternity leave must have a minimum of 39 weeks of PRSI contributions paid for a 12-month period before the first day of their maternity leave.

Alternatively:

Your employees must have 39 weeks of PRSI credited in the relevant tax year or the year after.

Your employees can also qualify for Maternity Benefit if they’ve made at least 26 weeks of PRSI payments in the relevant tax year and the year before.

B. Self-employed

Self-employed people (in insurable employment) must have a minimum of 52 weeks of PRSI contributions at Class S in the relevant tax year.

Alternatively:

They must have at least 52 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the year before or after the relevant tax year.

Are you a self-employed business owner in Ireland starting your maternity leave in 2025?

Then:

• The relevant tax year is 2023.

• The year before the relevant tax year is 2022.

• The year after the relevant income tax year is 2024.

C. Working outside of Ireland

If your employees have been working (in insurable employment) in the UK or a country governed by European Union (EU) regulations, they must have paid a minimum of one full-rate PRSI contribution in Ireland. 

The contribution depends on their pay period, which can be weekly, fortnightly, and monthly.

Your employees must also have paid their most recent PRSI contribution in Ireland to qualify for Maternity Benefit.

2. Certified Maternity Leave From Work

Here’s what your employees need to receive a certified maternity leave:

A. Employees

Your employees will need a doctor’s certificate confirming when their baby is due.

You must then complete the MB2: Employer Certificate for Maternity Benefit form.

Your employees will also need to get this Maternity Benefit form certified by you, even if their employment contract ends or has ended within 16 weeks before the end of the week their baby is due.

B. Self-employed

For self-employed workers, their doctor must complete the claim form MB3: Medical Certificate for Maternity Benefit, certifying the due date.

For further information, read everything about Maternity Benefit in our in-depth employer guide.

2 Maternity Benefit FAQs

We’ll answer two common questions on Irish Maternity Benefit:

1. What Is the Rate of Payment for Maternity Benefit?

If your employees qualify for a full-rate Maternity Benefit, they’ll receive a social welfare payment of €289 a week for 26 weeks, excluding Sundays (156 days).

They’ll only be eligible for half-rate Maternity Benefit (€144.50/week) if they’re on other social welfare payments, like:

• One-Parent Family Payment

• Prisoner’s Wife’s Allowance

• Deserted Wife’s Benefit or Allowance

• Widow’s and Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory and Non-Contributory) Pension

• A Surviving Civil Partner or Widow’s Widower’s Pension (under the Death Benefit Occupational Injuries Scheme)

Find out more on Maternity Benefit Payment Rates here.  

2. How Long Do Employees Receive Maternity Benefit Payments?

For full-term pregnancies, Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks or 156 days (Sundays aren’t counted).

Here’s how it works in other cases:

• Premature birth: Your employees will get Maternity Benefit for an extra period, equalling the number of days between the actual date of birth and the expected date of birth of their baby. They’ll need a doctor’s certificate or hospital letter confirming the premature birth.

• Stillbirth or miscarriage: Your employees will receive 26 weeks of Maternity Benefit if they have a miscarriage after the 24th week of pregnancy or stillbirth where the birth weight is at least 500 grams. They’ll need to submit a letter from their doctor along with the Maternity Benefit application form, clearly mentioning the expected date of birth, the actual date of birth and the number of weeks of pregnancy.

• Hospitalisation after birth: In the case of hospitalisation after birth, your employees can apply to postpone the last 12 weeks of their Maternity Benefit for a maximum of six months. To qualify for this, your employees must have at least 14 weeks of Maternity Benefit paid and be on 4 weeks of maternity leave before their baby’s birth. They’ll continue receiving the payment until their entitlement to Maternity Benefit finishes.

Find out exactly when your employees can Apply for Maternity Benefit in Ireland. 

Give Your Employees Additional Maternity Coverage with Kota

As an employer, you have to manage a host of other employee benefits in addition to their pay — like health insurance and retirement contributions.

Thankfully, with Kota, you can automate employee health insurance and retirement benefits. 

Your employees can also choose packages with maternity coverage options like postnatal care and antenatal classes or extra add-ons, like fertility benefits that cover IVF treatments and more.

Get started with Kota and help your employees take ownership of their health coverage.