Circular Letter 22/97 with amendments PPT 03/01, PPT 08/01 and 91/06 sets out the Maternity Leave entitlements which apply to teachers in Community and Comprehensive Schools and supersedes all previous circulars relating to maternity leave.
These entitlements include 26 weeks of paid maternity leave which must commence at least 4 weeks before, and end at least 4 weeks after the expected date of delivery. A further period of 16 weeks unpaid leave may be taken and/or unpaid leave extending to the end of the school year.
Where maternity leave overlaps with the school vacation, a teacher is entitled to leave in lieu for the vacation days which overlap subject to a maximum of 30 days in any calendar year.
All Maternity Leave entitlements are subject to the conditions set out in CL 22/97.
Boards of Management are advised to ensure that copies of CL 22/97 with its amendments are readily available to all staff members.
Other matters dealt with in CL 22/97
- Protection of the Health and Safety of Pregnant Employees.
- Health and Safety Leave.
- Payment while on Health and Safety Leave.
- Ending of Health and Safety Leave.
- Resolution of Disputes.
4.14.1 Maternity Leave when Job-sharing and on return from a Career Break
A teacher on job-sharing is entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave at half-pay. If the job-sharing teacher on maternity leave indicates that she wishes to return to full-time teaching, any unexpired weeks of maternity leave from August 1st (the presumed date for commencement of full-time employment) will be at full-time level. In effect this means that part of the maternity leave may be leave from half-time work and part may be leave from full-time work. This means that the part of the maternity leave may be paid at half salary and part may be paid at full salary.
When a teacher has been on career break and wishes to return she is entitled to maternity leave from the date of return to the extent which would normally have been unexpired if she had been in continuous employment throughout the period of her maternity leave.
4.14.2 Ante-natal and Post-natal Care
Women are entitled to ante-natal and post-natal visits during work hours without loss of pay. There are no stated maximum or minimum limits to the time/s for such visits. However, the employer is entitled to ask for sight of the woman’s appointment card as proof of a scheduled visit. If a woman makes an unscheduled ante-natal or post-natal visit she must provide a medical certificate confirming that the visit took place. The employer is entitled to two week’s written notice of each scheduled visit. In the event of an unscheduled medical visit the woman must, within a week of the visit occurring, provide written details as to the reason/s she could not give the normal advance notice.
4.14.3 Returning from Maternity Leave
A person taking leave, under the terms of the Maternity Protection Act, 1994, is obliged to give formal notification of her/his return to work. If such notification is not given, the employer is legally entitled to assume that the employee’s last day of maternity leave is the last day of her/his employment.
On return to work an employee is entitled to the same job, with the same conditions of employment, as was held before going on leave.
4.14.4 Father’s Entitlement to Leave
A teacher who is the registered father of a child may be granted 3 days of Paternity Leave subject to conditions laid down in DES CL PPT 23/01.
Under certain circumstances, if the mother of the child dies within fourteen weeks of her confinement, the father may be entitled to leave of up to fourteen weeks. The conditions governing the granting of leave to fathers on the birth of a child are laid down in Section 16 of the Maternity Protection Act, 1994. A man who is granted leave under Section 16 is entitled to the same employment protection as a woman on maternity leave or on additional maternity leave as appropriate. The arrangements for payment while on such leave will be similar to those described in paragraphs 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 of CL. 22/97.
Parental Leave for Teachers in Second Level Schools.
The Parental Leave Act, 1998 became effective on the third day of December 1998. Under the terms of the Act a teacher, who is the natural or adoptive parent of a child, shall be entitled to unpaid parental leave for a period of fourteen working weeks subject to the terms outlined in the Circular Letter 17/99 and amended by CL PPT 01/04.