Parental Leave

I'm looking for advice in relation to Parental Leave which I have requested from my employer. I requested the leave at the end of July for 5 weeks Parental leave commencing on the 11th October, the request was submitted will above the 6 week notification requirement. I asked my employer for confirmation that the leave had been granted on numerous occasions but with no answer. It is now less than 4 weeks before my leave is meant to start but I have no confirmation whether I am getting it or not.

I was emailed this morning by my employer asking to give him proposals for the provision of cover for the period I want to take!

Can some tell me:

- Is my employer in breach of the Parental Leave Act and if so am I entitled to my leave?
- Is the onus on the employer to make sure that there is cover for me when I take the leave, as I know this can be grounds for the employer to postpone the leave.
- What are my options if the employer refuses my leave on the dates I want?

Any advice on the about would be appreciated

My understanding is:

- Is my employer in breach of the Parental Leave Act and if so am I entitled to my leave? He is not in breach if he rejects the first application due to cover problems.
- Is the onus on the employer to make sure that there is cover for me when I take the leave, as I know this can be grounds for the employer to postpone the leave. I would definitely say so. When they approve your parental leave, they have to ensure cover is in place. If there is no cover but parental leave is approved, they should not put the onus on you.
- What are my options if the employer refuses my leave on the dates I want?
They can refuse it once for example because no cover was found but should not reject a second application. If therefore they refuse to give approval this time around, apply again with a different/ alternative date.

Does your company have a handbook? Mine has and it is all clearly explained in there i.e. under what deadlines they work etc. I went twice on parental leave, the 1st time they took ages too to get back to me and the 2nd one was approved within a week.

Thanks Alaska.

I thought the employer must notify the employee in writing of his/her intention to postpone or accept the leave, no later than 4 weeks before the proposed date of commencement of the leave.

As my leave is 3 weeks away and he has not rejected or accepted my leave where does that leave me? If he rejects the leave do I have any recourse as he hasnt followed the terms of the Act?

This is from the citizensinformation website:

part from a refusal on the grounds on non-entitlement, an employer may also postpone the leave for up to 6 months. This must be done before the confirmation document is signed. Grounds for such a postponement include lack of cover or the fact that other employees are already on parental leave. Normally only one postponement is allowed.

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and

You must give written notice to your employer of your intention to take parental leave. You should inform your employer in writing at least 6 weeks before the leave is due to start. The notice should state the starting date and how long the leave will last. After this not less than 4 weeks before the leave is due to start, you will need to sign a document with your employer confirming the details of the leave.

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So they state that four weeks before the start of the leave period, you need to sign a document with them. Does your company have a HR department? Write to them and request this document. Did you talk to someone in person (i.e. HR person, Manager) in your company?

This is the problem, we do not have a HR department or Hr person! All HR matters are sanctioned by the Directors.

Well I got information from the Equality Authority and my company are in Breach of the Parental act and I do have grounds to bring a case to the Rights commissioner BUT even though they are in breach they can postpone my Partenal leave and if I am to bring a case against them it will take 6/9 months for the rights commissioner to hear it. So its a LOSE/LOSE.