Parental Leave

For comprehensive details of parental leave, refer to Chapter 5of Circular 0054/2019. 

  1. What is parental leave? 
  2. Eligibility 
  3. Pattern of Leave 
  4. Application process 
  5. Statutory annual leave and public holidays 
  6. Withdrawing from parental leave 
  7. Postponement of parental leave by employer 
  8. Transferring leave between parents 
  9. Using parental leave on alternating weeks to create an arrangement similar to job sharing 
  10. Application forms and additional information 

What is parental leave?

Parental leave is unpaid leave available to teachers for the purpose of caring for children. 

From 1 September 2020, the entitlement to Parental Leave is 26 weeks per child. 

Parental Leave is available to parents of children under the age of sixteen.

Eligibility

A teacher who has completed at least 12 months of continuous employment with the same employer and is a natural parent, adoptive parent, adopting parent or in acting in loco parentis to a child is eligible to apply for parental leave. If a teacher has been compulsorily redeployed into a school but was employed for at least 12 months with their prior employer then they are considered eligible for parental leave. 

A teacher is entitled to 26 weeks of parental leave per child. Parental leave can be used any time until the child turns sixteen.

Where a child is adopted between the ages of 11 and 13, parental leave may be used up to two years from the date of the adoption order. 

Parental leave taken in respect of more than one child can only exceed 26 weeks in a twelve-month period with the employer’s consent, except in the case of multiple births (twins, triplets etc.) where a teacher has a statutory entitlement to more than 26 weeks of parental leave. 

Pattern of Leave

The minimum amount of parental leave that can be taken at one time is one week and the maximum amount is 26 weeks. 

Parental leave must be taken in blocks of seven consecutive days which includes any weekends, public holidays etc. that fall during that time. In certain circumstances, where a child has medical problems that require regular attendance at clinics/appointments, parental leave may be granted in individual days. Certificates from the hospital or doctor in respect of these appointments must be provided to the school and kept on the teacher’s personnel file. 

Parental leave can commence on any day of the week but must run for the full period of 7 days e.g. Monday – Sunday, Wednesday – Tuesday, etc.  

If a week of parental leave brings you a few days short of a school closure then you may wish to apply for unpaid leave instead of an extra week of parental leave. There is a maximum of 10 days unpaid leave in a school year which may be taken either individually or consecutively, subject to the approval of your employer. For further details see Chapter 11 of   Circular 0054/2019.

Application process

A teacher wishing to avail of parental leave should apply to their employer in writing, using the application form available at Appendix A of Chapter Five of Circular 0054/2019 (PDF). The application should be sent at least six weeks before the teacher proposes to take the parental leave. 

Statutory annual leave and public holidays

Chapter 10of Circular 0054/2019 sets out the arrangements in relation to statutory annual leave/public holiday entitlements. The arrangements can be summarised as follows: 

  • The leave year for teachers runs from 1 September to 31 August. 
  • Full-time employees have a statutory right to 20 days annual leave, and ten public holidays per year. 
  • A teacher’s entitlement to 20 days annual leave and ten public holidays is not affected by their absence on parental leave. 
  • Public holidays occurring while on parental leave will be dealt with by increasing the statutory 20 days annual leave entitlement. 
  • However, if in a leave year, a teacher on parental leave has been able to take the statutory minimum of 20 days annual leave, and any public holiday
    entitlements due, either before and/or after their parental leave through scheduled school closures, then they have achieved their statutory
    entitlements so no additional leave has accrued. 
  • If, in the leave year, a teacher’s parental leave means they won’t be able to take 20 days annual leave and ten public holidays through school closures, they may take any such days immediately before the commencement of parental leave. 
  • Finally, if a teacher wishes to carry any such days forward to the following leave year, then these days may be taken only when the school is closed. 

Withdrawing from parental leave

At least four weeks before the parental leave starts, the employer and teacher should sign the confirmation document at Appendix B of Chapter Five of Circular 0054/2019. This document is legally binding. The teacher may revoke their application for parental leave until this document is signed. The employer must record a teacher’s leave on the OLCS four weeks before the leave commences, and further amendments will not be permitted.
However, Parental Leave may be suspended if the teacher becomes ill to the extent that they are unable to care for their child.

Postponement of parental leave by employer

The employer can postpone parental leave where granting it would have an adverse effect on the running of the school. Ordinarily, parental leave may only be postponed once. 

Where an employer decides to postpone parental leave, the teacher should be consulted and informed at least four weeks before they were due to start parental leave. The teacher should be offered an alternative date within six months of when the original parental leave was due to start. 

Transferring leave between parents

Where two parents of the same child work in the same school, it is possible to transfer 14 of the 26 weeks of parental leave to the other parent. In this situation, one parent may avail of 40 weeks and the other 12 weeks. If parents do not have the same employer, parental leave may not be transferred. 

Using parental leave on alternating weeks to create an arrangement similar to job sharing

INTO has received a high volume of queries in relation to applying for a week-on, week-off pattern of parental leave, to create an arrangement similar to job sharing. 

There are a number of issues which teachers and schools considering such an arrangement should be aware of before applying or approving parental leave in this pattern. 

What is this arrangement?

The rules for parental leave are set out in circular 54/2019, chapter five. If a teacher has children under sixteen, they may have parental leave to take. This must be requested in minimum blocks of seven days. 

Some teachers apply to take their parental leave every second week, creating an arrangement akin to undertaking a job share. 

Further, some teachers have sought to take their parental leave on alternating weeks with a colleague who also has parental leave available, asking to be allocated to the same class as that colleague, on a week-on, week-off arrangement. The substitute who is covering for this pair of teachers may then be allocated to another single class, at the discretion of the principal. 

Why do teachers want to do it?

In a job share, a teacher’s hours are reduced by half and they will be paid at the job-sharing rate of pay for the full school year, 1 September to 31 August. 

If a teacher is applying to use parental leave every second week, they are still a full-time employee and will receive their full-time rate of pay for any periods when not taking parental leave (i.e. during school closures and for the summer). 

A teacher in a job share for the year will be off salary for the equivalent of twenty-six weeks. A teacher using parental leave every second week will be off salary for approximately twenty weeks (subject to the school calendar). 

What do schools need to consider in relation to applications for this pattern of parental leave?

When a job share is approved, a fixed-term position may be filled for the duration of the job share, from 1 September to the following 31 August. 

When a teacher is absent on parental leave, their absences will be filled by a substitute teacher. In this pattern, a substitute teacher will be required every second week. 

If two teachers have paired up to request their parental leave on alternating weeks, two concurrent substitute vacancies are created, which – if the teachers have been meticulous with their parental leave applications – may provide a full year of substitute employment. 

However, a fixed-term position is likely to be more attractive and more straightforward to fill, ensuring that pupils have one teacher consistently employed for the year. 

Furthermore, the job share scheme clearly provides a framework for teachers and schools in areas like Croke Park hours, parent-teacher meetings, leave in lieu for attendance at in-service training, and posts of responsibility. No similar guidance exists for pairs of teachers availing of their parental leave. 

Is a teacher entitled to take their leave in this pattern?

Parental Leave is a statutory entitlement, and an eligible teacher may apply for it in line with the rules set out in circular 54/2019. 

However, an employer may limit the number of weeks of parental leave that will be approved – if a teacher has applied for parental leave for a period of more than six weeks, six weeks is the minimum that must be approved – and an employer may postpone the commencement of the leave by up to six months, if “granting the leave at that time would have a substantial adverse effect on the operation of the school.” 

An employer is required to discuss any intended postponement of the leave with the teacher and must give the teacher at least four weeks’ notice of the Board’s decision. 

For a parental leave application commencing in September, an employer could wait until the summer to make efforts to recruit a qualified substitute before making a final decision on a teacher’s parental leave application by mid-July. 

If a teacher is applying for a job share, they should be notified whether it’s been approved by 1 March and will be able to plan for the year ahead on that basis. 

Application forms and additional information

Chapter 5 of Parental Leave Entitlements Circular 0054/2019

Parental Leave Application Form

If having consulted the information on this page, you have further questions about Parental Leave, the INTO QueryLine operates 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, on 01 804 7700 or email info@into.ie  

Page updated 16 July 2024

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