Hello,
I am currently seeking to evaluate our maternity pay policy in Ireland. Currently, we offer 26 weeks of maternity leave with full pay, less social welfare benefits, after a waiting period of 9 months.
To be eligible for maternity pay, an employee must have completed 9 months of service at the commencement of their maternity leave.
Consequently, if an employee reaches the 9-month service requirement during their maternity leave, they will not qualify for maternity pay.
I am curious to know if other organisations have a different approach to the waiting period?
Hi Christiane,
We have a similar set up to Taz. After 1 year, eligible for 26 weeks at topped up Social Welfare to 100% of pay.
Hi Christiane,
For the 26 weeks of Maternity Leave, provided the employee has one year’s (12 months) continuous service, we will top up the Social Welfare payments to bring the employee to 100% of normal pay.
At the moment anyone with less than 12 month's service does not qualify for the full maternity pay. I'm of the opinion that this is in need of review and as an organisation some of our benefits in Ireland have longer waiting periods than you'd typically expect and I'm working with the local HR teams to reduce this.