one maternity leave directly after another

Hi,

My wife is currently on maternity leave, do you know if she can run one maternity leave into another without having to go back to work in between?

we were thinking she could take 6 months paid leave, 4 months unpaid, 2007 holidays, 2008 holidays, parental leave etc. so we could delay her going back to work for a substantial amount of time & she could be due the next baby before she is due back at work again.

my question is would there be a requirement to be back in work (maybe for a week or two) before being allowed to go off on the second maternity leave?

Also a related question, if you take a career break and are due back in work when you are 8 months pregnant (let's say) could you go back for a week or two and then go off on maternity leave?

she is a nurse so she would have the same rights as all public sector/ civil service employees i'd imagine.

Thanks.

Off topic posts removed. If somebody can answer the question asked then please do so. Otherwise keep opinions/value judgements to yourself or Letting Off Steam. Thanks.

If her employers allow her to take her leave as outlined above, then my understanding is that she has legally returned to work, regardless of the fact that she hasn't set foot in the office.

What does her contract/handbook say. Because of the way our maternity top up is paid we have to go back to work for 6 months to get the full top up but it obviously varies from place to place.

If you're talking career break is your wife a teacher or civil service? They are more generous with their maternity policies.

She needs to contact the INO who will know if she is entitled to do this.As far as I know, her employer has discretion as regards the granting of annual and parental leave and thus may not facilitate her with this plan.

Yes - parental leave is a statutory right but must be mutually agreed so don't just assume that it can be taken consecutively with other leave.

hmmm go from one maternity leave to another? that sounds tempting. Has anyone else in her work done it? When on maternity leave you should be treated as if you have been at work the whole time.

thanks everyone for the replies.

sandrat:
haven't heard of anyone else at her work doing it. i suppose that's what i was hopeing to hear from here as we cannot really ring up her HR Dept. and ask about this directly. I suppose we need to ring the INO for their view on it.

Clubman & Brianne:
i suppose i'm just presuming for now that she will be allowed take all the leave i mentioned, for our first baby she took all the unpaid leave & holidays before she went back to work & then used the parental leave to cut down one shift per week. The job are quite good in relation to facilitating people in this sense i think.

shesells:
i dont know what her contract/handbook says but i wouldn't think it would refer to either of the scenarios i was asking about.. they are unusual queries.
she is a nurse so she would have similar rights to teachers & civil servants i presume.

would the fact that she wouldn't have made many PRSI payments during the unpaid leave etc. effect the situation?
maybe she would get the top up part from work but not the basic part from social welfare?

from a SW point of view, the conditions quoted belowq might help to understand if she would qualify:

"
To qualify for Maternity Benefit, a claimant must -

• be in employment which is covered by the Maternity Protection Act, 1994, immediately before the first day of her maternity leave. The last day of insurable employment may be within 16 weeks of the end of the week in which her baby is due. (If she ceases employment, her Maternity Leave must commence from the following day) and
• be certified by her employer as entitled to maternity leave under the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 and
• have her expected date of confinement certified by a registered medical practitioner and
• have at least 39 weeks PRSI paid in the 12 months before the first day of her maternity leave
  or
• at least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and at least 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the Relevant Tax Year or in the year following the Relevant Tax Year
  or
• at least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the Relevant Tax Year and at least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the Tax Year prior to the Relevant Tax Year "

Welfarite,

what would the "relevant tax year" be for maternity leave in 2008?

what does this point depend on? "be certified by her employer as entitled to maternity leave under the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 "

thanks.

The "relevant tax year" in 2008 would be 2006. presumably, employer certifies that she is in employment covered under Mat Act?

thanks Welfarite.