Career break and pregnancy
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Black_Knight
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Bit of a google seems to suggest yes.
www.irishtimes.com
Tribunal awards teacher denied maternity leave
A Limerick primary school teacher who was denied maternity leave because she had already applied for a career break has been …
PaddyBloggit
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That's a slightly different scenario in that the career break hadn't started. The OP is actually on career break.
Best port of call for the OP is to contact her union. They'll tell her immediately what she's entitled to.
As she is on approved leave she retains her existing pension scheme.
lughildanach
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You can't be on two types of leave at the same time. I guess the issue is whether she can somehow suspend or otherwise cancel her career break to enable her to access Maternity Leave. I expect there could be some resistance. Definitely contact the Union.
There should be resistance. A career break is an enhanced condition of working in the public service.
Why should the taxpayer pay for this.
lughildanach
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Paid Maternity Leave is also an enhanced condition of working in the public service. I'm happy to pay taxes for such things, as I think it benefits society.
lughildanach
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So pregnant women on career breaks should have no protection? It would be interesting to see what the Workplace Relations Commission would make of a case like this. There would most likely be some kind of obligation for the employer to accommodate the employee in curtailing their career break, or at very least justify any refusal.
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Early Riser
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This may be relevant:
Status of a civil servant on career break
14. A civil servant on career break: .................
(iii) may not avail of any form of paid leave from the Civil Service (e.g. sick leave) during the period of the career break;
Status of a civil servant on career break
14. A civil servant on career break: .................
(iii) may not avail of any form of paid leave from the Civil Service (e.g. sick leave) during the period of the career break;
PaddyBloggit
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Why should they? They've effectively taken time out from their jobs, to step back in again when the career break is over.
lughildanach
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It may be. Depending on how they deal with any request, it could also be discriminatory.
lughildanach
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Unlikely that they took career break to have a child. That's what maternity leave is designed for.
Early Riser
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So, say if they pointed out that, under the terms of the Career Break Scheme, a person on such a break may not avail of any form of paid leave. Would that be discriminatory?
When you are on career break, I believe your employment is temporarily suspended, i.e. in the old days you would have gotten a P45 etc. therefore I don't think it's even possible to get maternity leave from your employer as you are no longer employed by them technically (until you return)
PaddyBloggit
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Getting pregnant while on career break is their choice.
In the case of teaching, would it mean the poor soul doing the career break job for the year should be foisted out because the person on career break decides to get pregnant and wants to come back to avail of maternity leave?
PaddyBloggit
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Exactly...
lughildanach
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The key is that it is temporarily suspended. You can ask for it to be resumed. You have no automatic entitlement for it to be resumed at your request, but you can ask. Where equality issues arise, employer is under an obligation to consider the request and justify the response. If there is a blanket refusal with no consideration, it likely offends principles of equality law.