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.