As women’s participation in the labour market increases, pregnancy is becoming an ever-more common feature of the Irish workplace.
Pregnancy-related discrimination is prohibited in Ireland under the Employment Equality Acts. Because pregnancy is a uniquely female condition cases tend to be taken on the grounds of gender discrimination.
Alongside Irish law, pregnancy-related discrimination case-law from the ECJ is also used in hearings in Ireland.
In the case of a pregnancy-related dismissal, the Unfair Dismissals Act and the Maternity Protection Acts may also be relevant. Pregnant women may not be dismissed from the beginning of pregnancy to the end of maternity leave, except for reasons unrelated to pregnancy.
In two ECJ cases (Browne vs Rentokil and Webb vs EMO Cargo) the court ruled that the period of pregnancy and maternity leave is a ‘special protected period’. This is due to the harmful physical and mental effects that dismissal during pregnancy may have on the woman in question.
The Maternity Protection Acts allow for time off for medical visits during pregnancy. The acts also say that illness arising from pregnancy cannot be treated like regular illness and that sick-pay cannot be reduced regardless of the duration of absence. Employees are entitled to time off work for antenatal and postnatal care. An employee may also take time off with pay for one set of antenatal classes.
The European Pregnancy Directive obliges employers to conduct a health and safety assessment of the pregnant worker’s work-environment. Where there is a risk, adjustments must be made to rectify it. If the adjustment is impossible, employers should grant Health and Safety Leave.
All women are entitled to 26 paid weeks of maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks unpaid. The payment normally comes via the Department of Social Protection. A woman can go on maternity leave within 16 weeks of the last day of the week in which the baby is due.
An employee must take at least two weeks before the due date and at least four weeks after the due date. In the event of the hospitalisation of a child, a mother may agree with her employer to postpone and then resume maternity leave.
The amount of money due depends on income. The sum is arrived at by dividing a worker’s gross annual income by the number of weeks she works in a year. 80% of this figure is the amount to be paid. Some employers will provide additional payments or benefits.
In the event of a miscarriage or stillbirth at any time after the 24th week of pregnancy, women are entitled to full maternity leave.
Anyone returning from maternity leave is entitled to return to the same work they had prior to becoming pregnant. The terms of their contract must remain the same upon their return to work.
If it is impossible to return to the same position, they
Under the Maternity Protection Act 1994, an employee who is breastfeeding her child is entitled to any one of the following:
- A break of 60 minutes
- 2 breaks of 30 minutes each
- 3 breaks of 30 minutes each
- Another configuration of breaks to be agreed with her employer (including an arrangement for reduced working time which is paid).
In the event that her employer refuses to grant her one of the above arrangements, the employee can bring a claim under the Maternity Protection Act. The maximum possible compensation is 20 weeks’ remuneration.
Alternatively, the employee could bring a claim against her employer under the Employment Equality legislation. This would be on the grounds that lactation is a medical condition and refusal to grant her the necessary breaks amounts to discrimination. In this case the maximum compensation possible is 104 weeks’ remuneration.
The employee could, finally, bring two claims against her employer - one under each piece of legislation.
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