The Parental Leave Act (IE9806251N [1]) came into force in December 1998, giving parents with children under the age of five an entitlement to 14 weeks' unpaid parental leave, as well as introducing an entitlement to paid 'force majeure' leave for urgent family reasons. According to a survey published in early 2002, about 1.35% of the Irish workforce had taken parental leave between December 1998 and summer 2001, with a further 2% availing themselves of paid 'force majeure' leave. It was calculated that 6.74% of the workforce were entitled to parental leave over the period studied, and 20% of these people thus availed themselves of all or part of the entitlement.[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/bill-to-implement-parental-leave-directive
A survey on parental leave published in early 2002 found that, of the 6.74% of the Irish workforce eligible for the statutory unpaid leave, 20% had used it, mostly women. Furthermore, about 2% of the total workforce had used paid 'force majeure' leave for urgent family reasons. The survey was carried out for a working group charged with reviewing Ireland's parental leave legislation.
The Parental Leave Act (IE9806251N) came into force in December 1998, giving parents with children under the age of five an entitlement to 14 weeks' unpaid parental leave, as well as introducing an entitlement to paid 'force majeure' leave for urgent family reasons. According to a survey published in early 2002, about 1.35% of the Irish workforce had taken parental leave between December 1998 and summer 2001, with a further 2% availing themselves of paid 'force majeure' leave. It was calculated that 6.74% of the workforce were entitled to parental leave over the period studied, and 20% of these people thus availed themselves of all or part of the entitlement.
The survey was undertaken by MORI MRC, a market research firm, for a government and social partner working group charged with proposing changes to the 1998 parental leave legislation. The results were based on 655 completed questionnaires from employers.
As many as 84% of those taking unpaid parental leave were women and the highest take-up was in the civil service, with 43% of those eligible availing themselves of the leave. The highest take-up in the private sector was in financial services, at 39%.
The most common type of parental leave made available (by 69% of employers surveyed) was a continuous block of 14 weeks. However, 60% of employers also made smaller blocks of full weeks available and 42% offered other arrangements (under Irish case law, employers can insist that parental leave be taken only as a single block of 14 weeks - any more flexible arrangement is voluntary for the employer).
On force majeure leave, which is paid by the employer, as many as 2% of the Irish workforce – or an estimated 34,330 employees – used this entitlement in the 2.5-year period studied, according to MORI MRC's estimates. The average amount of leave taken by each worker was about 2.2 days (under the legislation, three days may be taken in any one year, subject to a maximum of five days over a three-year period). Women were twice as likely to use force majeure leave as men, with the overall take-up highest in manufacturing and the civil service.
The working group on the review of the legislation is understood to be 'agreeing to disagree' on some of the most important issues under consideration, such as introducing payment for the 14 weeks leave and extending the period to 18 weeks. However, agreement is likely on increasing the age threshold from five years to six years and several other changes.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2002), Take-up of unpaid parental leave reaches 20%, article.
