Parents Leave is a statutory entitlement that allows each parent to take up to 7 weeks of leave during the first 2 years of a child’s life or within 2 years of an adoption placement.

Parents Leave is separate from other statutory leave types, including maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave.

Payroll Treatment

Parents Benefit

Employees may qualify for Parents Benefit, which is paid directly by the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

Because Parents Benefit is paid directly to the employee:

• It is not processed through payroll.
• The payment does not appear on the employer’s payroll records.
• No payroll adjustment is required in relation to the DSP payment.

Employer Pay During Parents Leave

Employers are not required to continue paying an employee during Parents Leave unless a contractual agreement or company policy provides for paid leave.

• If the employee is unpaid during their leave, no salary or wages should be processed for the period of absence.
• If the employer does top up or pay during Parents Leave, that pay is processed through payroll as normal taxable pay in line with the company’s policy or contract.

Recording Parents Leave in BrightPay

To record Parents Leave for an employee in BrightPay:

1. Open the employee record.
2. Select the Calendar tab.
3. Select the option for Parenting leave

4. Add a Parents Leave for the relevant dates.

   

5. Specify whether any Parents Benefit received by the employer is being passed on to the employee or not.
6. Choose the option to Top up if applicable 
7. Save the changes.

Recording the leave in the employee’s calendar helps maintain an accurate record of their statutory leave periods and ensures reports and records are correct.

Revenue Reporting

There are no additional Revenue reporting requirements specifically for Parents Leave.

Employers should continue to:

• Retrieve the employee’s latest Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) as normal.
• Process payroll according to the employee’s actual pay entitlement during the leave period (paid or unpaid).

No special Revenue notification is required in relation to Parents Leave.