Parents are to be given the right to request flexible working hours to care for children under new measures to help create a better work life balance for families.
As the Irish Examiner reports, Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman is introducing significant changes which will also allow parents to take five days off work each year to care for their children when they are sick.
The General Scheme of a Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill will be brought to Cabinet on Wednesday which will provide more flexibility to those who are breastfeeding and extend right to maternity leave for transgender people who give birth.
The Bill provides "a right to request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes”. This will be extended to parents of children up to age 12 as well as those caring for relatives.
Separately, a new “leave for medical care purposes” is to be created which would provide for five days of unpaid leave, per year, per employee.
This is in addition to existing entitlements under the Carer’s Leave Act 2001.
The General Scheme of the Bill also provides for the extension of the period of calculable breastfeeding breaks for women who are back at work.
Currently, a parent who is in employment and is breastfeeding is entitled to take one paid hour off work each day as a breastfeeding break for up to 26 weeks after birth.
This time may be taken as one 60-minute break, two 30-minute breaks or three 20-minute breaks.
However, this will now be extended to 104 weeks post-birth to allow parents to continue breastfeeding.
Mr O'Gorman is also proposing to address a number of legislative issues and anomalies which have been identified, including provisions to ensure an entitlement to maternity leave for a transgender man who has, in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2015, obtained a gender recognition certificate and subsequently gives birth.
