# If mother dies in childbirth Is the father entitled to "maternity" leave?



## legend99 (18 Aug 2005)

This came up at lunchtime and we made the assumption that the Dad would be entitled to "maternity leave" in place of the mother. 
I was checking OASIS and although i confirmed thar if a male is the sole person adopting a child that he can take adoptive leave, i didn't find any info on what happens if the mom dies in a successful child birth...anyone know?


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## Carpenter (18 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*

Is the eligibility for maternity benefit not related to the woman's PRSI contributions, so therefore how could this be transferrable?


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## legend99 (18 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*

Leave is different from benefit...
found some of the info in here:
http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2004/a2804.pdf


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## Molly (18 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*

Are you referring to leave from work ??? or maternity benefit payments ??? 

I  presume maternity benefit would not be transferrable, 
 As tragic an event that would be, maternity leave not only serves for a new born child to be cared for in its first few months at home but also as recuperation for the mother having given birth, so I would not assume your employer would be under obligation to give the father paid or even for that matter unpaid leave, however you would assume in this day and age a compassionate employer would assist their employer as best they could.


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## legend99 (18 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*

from my link above you are defo entitled to some leave...seems that if it happens before 16th week you can go on leave up til 16th week. If it happens before 24th week after 16th week you can go on leave til 24th week.

thats my reading of it, but I always find law docs. hard to read.


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## ajapale (18 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*

Hi ledgend,
It looks like you are correct.



			
				MATERNITY PROTECTION (AMENDMENT) ACT 2004 said:
			
		

> 10.—Section 16 of the Principal Act is amended—
> ..
> ‘‘(1) If a woman who has been delivered of a living
> child (in this section referred to as ‘the mother’) dies at
> ...



ajapale


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## Capaill (18 Aug 2005)

Don't forget that a parent is entitled to take Parental leave

C


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## Joe1234 (18 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*



			
				Molly said:
			
		

> I would not assume your employer would be under obligation to give the father paid or even for that matter unpaid leave,




Is there not parental leave where either parent is entitled to certain time off (unpaid) before the child reaches a certain age?  Does anyone know if an employer could refuse an employee parental leave?


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## Joe1234 (18 Aug 2005)

Sorry Capaill,

It seems I did not notice your previous post before I made my last post.


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## mmclo (18 Aug 2005)

Parental leave unpaid

Maternity leave transferred presumably is paid


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## Capaill (18 Aug 2005)

No Problem Joe

Accorsing to Oasis 
"Normally the child must be under 5 years of age in order to avail of parental leave"
"Employees with one year's service are entitled to take parental leave"

As mmclo points out parential leave is unpaid and you are not entitled to any social welfare payments.
C


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## legend99 (19 Aug 2005)

*Re: What happens if female dies in childbirth?*



			
				Joe1234 said:
			
		

> Is there not parental leave where either parent is entitled to certain time off (unpaid) before the child reaches a certain age?  Does anyone know if an employer could refuse an employee parental leave?



They can make you defer it twice I think for up to 6 months. Additionaly, many employers have minimum blocks in which you can take it. I.E. 4 or 6 weeks at a time. rather than taking say 1 day a week for a year.


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## Gordanus (19 Aug 2005)

but there are situations in which you can take 'force majeure' leave, which I've used for family emergencies, having to bring the child to the hospital etc.  Don't know if it's paid or not though as I haven't checked the pay packet at the end of the month.


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## eoghanlk (20 Aug 2005)

Have taken force majeur leave and was paid as normal. However the company insisted that force majeur would only be granted for one day as the emergency was no longer unexpected by the second day. Try explaining that to a newborn!

Eoghanlk


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## mmclo (22 Aug 2005)

Think there have been some chages to parental leave recently. May be now up to 8 years and maybe 12 for child with disability...BUT STILL UNPAID

Accorsing to Oasis 
"Normally the child must be under 5 years of age in order to avail of parental leave"
"Employees with one year's service are entitled to take parental leave"

As mmclo points out parential leave is unpaid and you are not entitled to any social welfare payments.
C[/QUOTE]


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## armitage (22 Aug 2005)

I belive that the father is allowed to take the maternity benefit/leave (nearly sures its in the handbook the the mother receives when she applies to take maternity benefit)


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## CMCR (22 Aug 2005)

I hope the following clarifies the situation viz-a-vie a father claiming maternity benefit and maternity leave in the event of the death of the mother: 

*Father's entitlement to leave *

In the event of the death of the mother within 22 weeks of the birth of a living child, the father has certain leave entitlements. Where it is certified by his employer that a man who satisfies the contribution conditions is entitled to leave under the Maternity Protection Act, then he shall be entitled to benefit similar to if he was a woman who was entitled to maternity leave.

An employee who receives Health and Safety Benefit while pregnant is deemed to satisfy the PRSI contributions for Maternity Benefit.

Under the Maternity Protection Act, 1994, the woman must give her employer at least 4 weeks written notice of her intention to take maternity leave. She must also advise her employer 4 weeks in advance of returning to work and confirm this notification (again in writing) 2 weeks before she expects to return.

*Parental Leave*
On another note, there is much confusion regarding the issue parental leave from employment. The law on Parental Leave *HAS NOT CHANGED* and the provisions as set down in the *Parental Leave Act 1998 remains in force*. That is, the child must still be under 5 years of age in order for you to qualify. Again to clarify, the message posted earlier saying the law on Parental Leave had changed to cover older children *is wrong*. 

The proposed Parental Leave Act 2005 does make revisions to the existing age limit (i.e., increasing it). The new law is currently going through the Houses of the Oireachtas and staff in the Law Reform Division had hoped the amended law would be in place by the end of this summer. Since the Dail is currently on recess however, this is unlikely to occur until the Oireachtas re-convenes. 

The new Parental Leave Act may be in place before the end of 2005 but there is no specific date of implementation yet. So, if you are applying for Parental Leave anytime soon, bear in mind that your child must be aged under 5 years (can be extended to older children in the case of adopted children, etc.). The Oasis document referenced in postings above is a good source of information. 

If you have any questions on your rights in relation to Parental Leave - contact the Equality Authority who have responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the law. (See http://www.equality.ie).

Hope this has clarified matters.


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## legend99 (22 Aug 2005)

"In the event of the death of the mother within 22 weeks of the birth of a living child, the father has certain leave entitlements. Where it is certified by his employer that a man who satisfies the contribution conditions is entitled to leave under the Maternity Protection Act, then he shall be entitled to benefit similar to if he was a woman who was entitled to maternity leave.

An employee who receives Health and Safety Benefit while pregnant is deemed to satisfy the PRSI contributions for Maternity Benefit.

Under the Maternity Protection Act, 1994, the woman must give her employer at least 4 weeks written notice of her intention to take maternity leave. She must also advise her employer 4 weeks in advance of returning to work and confirm this notification (again in writing) 2 weeks before she expects to return."

God that has confused me even more. The first paragraph just states the man will have benefits...does that mean he takes over the remaining maternity leave AND maternity benefit?

Second paragraph...what the hell is Health and Safety Benefit !!!


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## armitage (26 Aug 2005)

health and safety is give to a pregnant women before maternity leave starts
if she works in an environment that could be dangerous to her unborn child and there is no alternative work available then she can claim Health and Safery benefit until her maternity leave starts

say a women fire fighter or someone working with dangerous chemicals


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