Under the Adoptive Leave Acts, 1995 – 2005, one parent of an adopting couple or where there is a sole adopting parent, that parent is entitled to certain time off when adopting a child.
A couple that jointly adopts a child must choose which one takes the adoptive leave and that is known as the nominated parent.
Eligibility and Entitlement
Adoptive leave is available to -
- A nominated adopting parent; or
- A sole adopter, an employee who is adopting a child on their own;
A nominated adopting parent or a sole adopter who is in employment is entitled to the following:
(a) 24 consecutive weeks of adoptive leave from work, beginning on the day of placement of the child;
(b) up to 16 weeks of additional adoptive leave.
The parent who does not take adoptive leave is entitled to Paternity Leave.
Your employer does not have to pay you while you are on adoptive leave unless it is included in your contract. – (Add in)
In the majority of cases, it is possible to receive a Social Welfare payment for the initial 24 week period of adoptive leave.
Information regarding Adoptive Benefits may be obtained from the Department of Social Protection.
Annual Leave and Public Holidays
In general, you are treated as though you are in employment while you are on adoptive leave and additional adoptive leave. This means you continue to build up your right to annual leave.
Employees on adoptive leave are entitled to be credited for any public holiday which occurs during their leave. This means that they must be given either an extra day's pay, or a set day off within a month, or an extra day's annual leave for any public holiday which occurred during their leave.
Reckonable Service for Redundancy
Absences on adoptive leave do not breach continuity of employment and qualifies as reckonable service for the purposes of redundancy agreements and payments.
Notification requirements
- An employee must give adequate notice, in writing, to her/his employer of her/his intention to take adoptive leave. The minimum advance notification is 4 weeks before the expected placement of the child.
- An employee must inform her/his employer, in writing, at least 4 weeks beforehand of her/his intention to take additional adoptive leave.
- An employee must inform her/his employer, in writing, at least 4 weeks beforehand of the date on which she/he intends to return to work after adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave.
- An employee who is taking adoptive leave must provide her/his employer with a certificate of placement. This certificate, which may be obtained from the Health Service Executive or adoption society which arranged the adoption, must be given to the employer as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than 4 weeks after the placement date.
- In the event of a foreign adoption, the employee must provide her/his employer with a copy of the declaration of eligibility or suitability before beginning adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave (whichever is the earlier).
Returning to Work
An employee must inform her/his employer, in writing, at least 4 weeks beforehand of the date on which she/he intends to return to work after adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave.
An adopting parent who is absent from work while on adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave shall be entitled to return to work to the same job with the same contract of employment. If this isn’t possible, the employer must provide suitable alternative work on terms that are not ‘less favourable’ than in your previous job.
If there was a change of ownership of the undertaking while the adopting parent was on adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave, their rights on returning to work stay the same under the new employer.
A copy of the primary Act may be viewed here – Adoptive Leave Act, 1995.
Resolving Issues
We would encourage employers and employees to seek to resolve any issue at the level of the employment.
Where issues cannot be resolved locally, the employee may make a complaint under the relevant legislation to the Workplace Relations Commission. Where the employer and employee are agreeable, the Commission may seek to resolve the matter by means of mediation. Otherwise, the complaint will be investigated by an Adjudication Officer. Every case is fact specific.
If you wish to seek additional information on your situation you may speak with an Information Officer of the Workplace Relations Commission at 0818 80 80 90 or 059 917 8990, Monday to Friday 9:30am to 5pm. The service is available for both employers and employees.