You are entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. You can start and finish your leave on any day you choose. You must take at least 2 weeks leave before the end of the week you are expecting to give birth. You must also take at least 4 weeks leave after the end of the week you expect to give birth.
How to apply for maternity leave
Premature births
If your baby is born prematurely, you may be entitled to extra paid maternity leave. This extra leave is added on after the standard 26 weeks of maternity leave.
You can take up to 16 weeks of unpaid additional maternity leave. This must start immediately after your 26 weeks of paid maternity leave finishes.
Premature Births - HR Circular 013-2019 (PDF, 370 KB, 4 pages)
Payment while on maternity leave
You are entitled to your normal basic pay and fixed allowances. Your pay will be reduced by any maternity benefit you receive under the health service maternity pay scheme. This is dependent on your social welfare contributions.
Your maternity leave pay will not include additional payment for:
- night work
- overtime
- shift work
- working unsociable hours
- standby and on-call allowances
Part-time employees
If you work part-time your maternity pay will be calculated pro-rata.
If your weekly working hours vary, you are entitled to your average weekly pay. This is calculated using the 13 weeks you worked before your maternity leave.
It does not include extra payments such as:
- unsocial hours premium payments
- overtime
- standby and on-call allowances
Sick leave during maternity leave
If you get sick during the last 4 weeks of your maternity leave, you can ask your manager to switch to sick leave instead. This also applies if you are already on, or applied for, additional maternity leave.
If your manager agrees, you may be entitled to use the sick leave scheme.
You cannot take additional maternity leave once your sick leave ends.
Postponing maternity leave due to serious illness
You can postpone your maternity leave for up to 52 weeks if you have a serious illness. A serious illness is one that significantly affects your health or wellbeing. This includes both physical and mental illnesses as certified by your doctor.
Your absence during the period of postponed maternity leave will be recorded as sick leave. You will still be eligible for other types of statutory leave, such as unpaid maternity leave, parental leave, or parent's leave.
You must give your manager 2 weeks' notice that you intend to postpone maternity leave. You can give notification using the maternity leave application form - HR 108(i).
You can postpone your maternity leave twice due to serious illness. The second period of postponement must immediately follow on from the first postponement. You must give your manager 2 weeks' notice that you intend to further postpone your maternity leave and provide a medical certificate.
You can take your postponed maternity leave as one continuous period, the day after your medical certificate ends. You must notify your manager in writing that you intend to take your maternity leave.
Early births
If you give birth more than 2 weeks early and you have not yet started maternity leave, you can take 26 weeks maternity leave starting from the date of birth.
You must tell your manager in writing within 14 days of the birth.
Late births
If your baby is born after the due date, you may have less than 4 weeks of maternity leave left after the birth. If this happens, you can extend your maternity leave so that you still get 4 weeks off after your baby is born.
Stillbirths
You are entitled to maternity leave, additional maternity leave, and maternity leave for premature birth if any of the following happen:
- you experience a stillbirth - a stillbirth is when a baby is born at or after 23 weeks of pregnancy, or weighing 400g or more, with no signs of life
- in a multiple pregnancy, if one baby is stillborn, another baby from the same pregnancy may also be registered as stillborn if the baby showed no signs of life and weighed at least 200g
If your baby is hospitalised
You can postpone your maternity leave if your newborn baby is in hospital. Your manager will need to agree to this. You can only postpone your leave after you’ve taken at least 14 weeks of maternity leave.
The same rule applies to the father if he is taking maternity leave instead of the mother.
If the mother dies - father’s entitlement to leave
If a mother dies during childbirth, her maternity leave entitlement transfers to the father.
The father must start this leave within 7 days of the mother’s death.
Antenatal and postnatal medical care
You can take paid time off work to go to antenatal and postnatal medical appointments. This includes travel time to and from the appointment.
You must give your manager 2 weeks' written notice, including the date and time of the appointment.
Apply for leave to attend antenatal and postnatal medical appointments on HR and Payroll Self Service.
Time off for antenatal classes
You can take paid time off to attend 1 set of antenatal classes during all your pregnancies while you are working.
If you miss a class for reasons you cannot control, you can use that missed entitlement in your next pregnancy.
Reasons you might miss a class include:
- miscarriage
- stillbirth
- premature birth
- your own illness
Fathers can also take paid time off to attend the last 2 classes in the set of antenatal classes.
Health and safety leave
If you think your job does not meet health and safety standards, you can ask your local HR department for a risk assessment. Your line manager will carry out the assessment.
This applies if you:
- are pregnant
- have recently given birth
- are breastfeeding
If the assessment finds a risk, your manager must temporarily change your work conditions or your working hours. They may also offer you suitable alternative work. If no suitable alternative is available, you are entitled to health and safety leave.
While on health and safety leave, you:
- are treated as if still working
- continue to build up your normal service‑based entitlements
- are not entitled to public holidays that fall during this leave
Health and safety information for pregnant, postnatal and breastfeeding employees
Payment during health and safety leave
You are entitled to basic pay and any normal allowances for the first 21 days of leave.
Pay does not include additional amounts you would receive for:
- night work
- shift work overtime
- working unsociable hours
- standby or on-call allowances
If your leave goes over 21 days, you may qualify for a health and safety benefit from the Department of Social Protection, depending on your PRSI contributions.
Protection of employment rights
Maternity leave and additional maternity leave
While on maternity leave, you are treated as if you are still working. Health service employees get maternity pay for the first 26 weeks, and you continue to build your pension during this time.
You also keep your rights to:
- annual leave
- public holidays
- incremental credit (your normal pay progression)
- seniority (your length of service continues to count)
Sick leave and annual leave
Time off for maternity leave does not count as any other type of leave. This means it does not reduce your sick leave or annual leave entitlements.
Public holidays
If a public holiday falls during your maternity leave, your leave is extended by that day. This does not apply to health and safety leave.
Probation, training, and apprenticeships
The following will be suspended while you are on maternity leave and will restart when you return:
- probation
- training
- apprenticeship
Return to work
You must give written notice of the date you plan to return to work. This must be done at least 4 weeks before you are due back.
Breastfeeding
You can take up to one hour of breastfeeding breaks each workday after you return from maternity leave. You can take these breaks until your child turns 2, if needed.
How to apply for maternity leave
You must tell your manager at least 4 weeks before you plan to start maternity leave.
Complete the Maternity Leave Application Form HR108i (PDF, 924 KB, 6 pages).
You can apply for additional maternity leave at the same time, or you can apply later - but no later than 4 weeks before your original maternity leave is due to finish.
If you change your mind about how much leave you want to take, you must give your manager written notice about this change.
National HR Employee Helpdesk
Phone: 1800 444 925
Email: ask.hr@hse.ie
The helpdesk is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 12 noon