Paternity Leave Ireland 2025: All Employer Queries Answered

Paternity leave in Ireland allows your male employees to take essential time off work after the birth or adoption of their child. This benefit contributes to a better work-life balance, helping your workforce remain engaged and productive in the long term.

As an employer, understanding paternity leave policies and supporting your employees during this time is crucial.

Keep reading to explore Ireland’s paternity leave policy and how you can ensure compliance while creating a supportive work environment.

Further Reading

• Are your employees taking paternity leave? Explore Ireland’s Paternity Benefit — a weekly social welfare payment for employed and self-employed individuals in Ireland.

• Find out How Your Employees Can Apply for Paternity Benefit in Ireland in our detailed guide.

• Do your employees need information about their Paternity Benefit claim? Provide them with the contact number for Ireland’s Paternity Benefit Section to get the help they need.

Who Is Eligible for Paternity Leave in Ireland?

Paternity leave is available to employed, self-employed, casual, or part-time worker.

As per the Irish paternity leave policy, only one ‘relevant parent’ of the child can take paternity leave. This relevant parent can be the:

• Biological father of the child.
• Spouse, cohabitant, or civil partner of the child's mother (regardless of gender).
• Parent of a donor-conceived child.

Your employee can also take paternity leave if they and their partner adopt a child.

When it comes to child adoption, paternity leave can be taken by:

• A person other than the adoptive mother of the child, typically the spouse, cohabitant, or civil partner.

• The sole male adopter and carer of the child.

• A person in a male same-sex marriage who is not taking adoptive leave.

How Much Paternity Leave Are Your Employees Entitled to in Ireland?

Paternity leave in Ireland allows your employees to take two consecutive weeks off within the first six months (26 weeks) following the birth or adoption of their child.

Employees are entitled to this two weeks' leave, regardless of the length of their service and the number of hours they’ve worked.

However, the employees' leave entitlement will remain the same length, no matter how many children they have or adopt at the same time.

Even if your employees have twins or adopt multiple children, they’ll only get two weeks of paternity leave.

Do You Have to Pay Your Employees While They’re on Paternity Leave?

No, as an employer in Ireland, you are not legally obligated to pay your employees while they are on paternity leave.

However, you may be required to provide paternity pay if it’s outlined in their contract of employment, or you choose to offer it as an additional benefit.

But here’s the thing…

Even if you decide not to pay your employees while they’re on leave, they can receive a weekly payment from the Irish government by applying for the Paternity Benefit.

The Paternity Benefit is a weekly social welfare payment by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to employed and self-employed individuals on paternity leave.

To qualify for this payment, your employees must have enough Pay Related Social Insurance contributions (PRSI contributions) and be on a certified leave from work. They can get the application form by contacting the Paternity Benefit section.

Learn more about Paternity Benefit Payment Rates.

When Should Your Employees Inform You About Their Paternity Leave?

If your employees are planning to take paternity leave, they should notify you at least four weeks before the date they want to start their leave.

Depending on whether they become a parent through childbirth or adoption, there are specific details they’ll need to share with you:

• For Childbirth: Employees should provide you with a medical certificate from their spouse’s or partner's doctor confirming their expected due date. However, if they’re applying for leave after the child's birth, their medical certificate should confirm the child’s actual birth date.

• For Adoption: Employees should submit a ‘certificate of placement’ confirming their child's adoption. If the adoption occurred internationally, they must also provide a ‘declaration of eligibility and suitability’ and written information about when the child was placed with them or the expected day of placement.

What Are an Employer’s Obligations While Their Employees Are on Paternity Leave?

As per Ireland’s Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016, you must follow certain rules when your employees are on paternity leave from work:

• You cannot discriminate against your employees, punish them, or terminate their employment because they’re on paternity leave. You also cannot suspend them while they're on leave.

• You must maintain written records of your employees’ paternity leave. These records should include details about when each employee was on leave and for how long.

• You must keep these records for a minimum of 8 years.

When the employee’s leave ends, you must allow them to return to their original job. If this is not possible, you must provide them with suitable alternative work.

As an employer, if you fail to comply with these obligations, your employees can report you to the Workplace Relations Commission within 12 months of the offence. Non-compliant employers can face penalisation and must pay a fine of up to €4,000. The Workplace Relations Commission can also take legal action against you.

4 FAQs on Irish Paternity Leave

Here are the answers to commonly asked questions about paternity leave in Ireland

1. Can Your Employees Take Paternity Leave In Case of Premature Birth or Stillbirth?

Your employees can take paternity leave if their child is born prematurely or if there is a stillbirth.

• Premature Births: If the employee’s baby is premature, they can apply for or change the dates of their paternity leave by informing you in writing. They must also submit a letter from their doctor confirming their new leave dates and their child's birth certificate.

• Stillbirths: If an employee’s partner experiences a stillbirth or miscarriage after the 24th week of pregnancy or if their baby weighs at least 500 grams at birth, that employee is eligible for paternity leave. They must provide you with a letter from their doctor. This letter should include the expected date of birth, the actual date of birth, and the duration of the pregnancy.

2. Is it Possible for Irish Employees to Postpone Their Paternity Leave?

Your employees can postpone their paternity leave if the child is born later than the expected date of birth or if there’s a delay in adoption placement.

Paternity leave postponement is also possible if:

• Employees get sick before their leave starts: If an employee falls ill just before the start of their paternity leave, they can delay it. In such cases, the employer and employee should agree upon the new start date, but it must end within 28 weeks after the birth or adoption placement of the employee’s child.

• The employee’s child is hospitalised: If the employee’s child is under hospitalisation due to a severe medical problem, they can postpone their paternity leave. Employees should start their leave within 7 days after their child’s discharge from the hospital or on a date the employer and employee decide.

3. Can Male Employees Get Maternity Leave in Ireland?

A father can take maternity leave (or adoptive leave in case of adoption) under exceptional circumstances, such as if the mother of the child passes away.

The duration of the maternity leave depends upon how soon after childbirth the mother passes away, and the leave starts within 7 days of her death.

Additionally, employees also have the option to take paternity leave immediately after the maternity leave ends, but only if they haven't already used their paternity leave.

4. Is Ireland's Paternity Leave Policy Good for Employees?

Ireland's statutory paternity leave policy offers two weeks’ leave to all male workers, allowing them time off work to stay with their newborn or adopted child.

The government also offers financial assistance to workers through Paternity Benefit payments and offers job security to employees on paternity leave. These are positive policies, especially when some countries don’t offer any paternal leave for fathers.

However, compared to EU countries like Sweden and Norway, the duration and payment of paternity leave in Ireland is relatively shorter and less generous.

For instance, in Sweden, new parents can share 480 days of parental leave with pay, beginning at 80% of their salary. Similarly, in Norway, fathers can get 15 weeks of full-pay paternity leave or 19 weeks of paternity leave at 80% of their pay, covered by their social security system.

Supplement Your Employees’ Paternity Leave with Kota’s Benefits

The Irish government introduced the paternity leave policy to allow fathers to bond with their newborn or adopted child during the crucial early stages of development.

However, worker’s participation in this scheme can be low as many Irish employers don’t supplement the government-provided benefits with additional salary top-ups.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Even if you can’t offer paid leave, you can still support your employees by providing comprehensive health insurance and retirement plans.

And that’s where Kota can help!

With Kota, you can:

• Set up and manage your employees’ health and pension plans.
• Give your employees the flexibility to choose their plans based on their budget.
• Compare your benefits and pension packages against local industry standards.
• Integrate Kota with your existing HR and payroll tools to reduce administrative overheads.

Join Kota and empower your employees with insurance and retirement benefits.