Fórsa has successfully secured an extension in the eligibility for workers across the Civil Service to access parental leave until their child reaches the age of 16.

The Parental Leave Act 1998 and the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019 sets out a statutory entitlement to unpaid parental leave of 26 weeks.

It has now been decided to set the maximum age of the child in respect of whom employees may take parental leave at sixteen years in all cases including for parents of children with a disability or long-term illness and in the case of adoption.

The main arrangements around parental leave entitlement in the Civil Service are set out in this circular.

A subsequent circular had increased the maximum age of the child in respect of whom employees may take parental leave to thirteen years of age previously. This has now been officially revised to parents of children up to sixteen years of age.

The changes came into effect from 1st July 2023. All other terms included in the principal circular continue to apply.

Fórsa officials representing members in the Civil Service division say this extension is just one of several matters it is pushing for on the equality front this year.

“We are advancing several equality issues in discussion with the employer this year, and the cooperation of the Equality Committee at the General Council would help in quickly progressing these crucial advancements,” said Éamonn Donnelly, head of Fórsa’s Civil Service division.

“This entire process could have been sped up if the Equality Committee of the General Council facilitated meetings more often,” he added.

“We are really keen to begin having robust discussions around domestic violence leave and menstrual and menopausal welfare policies to gain ground on those issues too,” said Éamonn.

The union maintains that delays or lack of communication from the employer representatives at the General Council will result in it agitating to meet outside the system for every single issue.

Fórsa’s push for action on these issues is a result of surveys of members and motions unanimously passed at its national policy-setting conference early last year.

The union says these supports could make a huge difference to the employees’ working lives and productivity, while being of minimal cost to employers.