Parents and carers to receive new work life balance rights from 3 July.

Dublin, Ireland. 26 June 2023 - Legislation giving employees more employment rights and a more flexible approach to work will start 3rd July 2023 under the Work Life Balance Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, the Government announced today.

Moira Grassick, COO at Peninsula Ireland, says “Parents and carers are the first cohort of employees to receive new rights within the workplace under this new legislation. The Work Life Balance Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 allows those who care for children to take more leave and work in a way that they deem appropriate for their family.

“Under the new provisions parents and carers will eventually be entitled to five core employee rights, including:

• 5 days unpaid leave for medical care purposes for parents of children under 12, and carers

• 5 days paid leave for victims of domestic violence

• The right to request flexible working for parents and carers

• The right to request remote working for all employees

• Extension of the right to take breastfeeding breaks from 6 months to two years from the date of a child’s birth.

“Two of these new rights will come into effect from 3 July 2023. The first is the extension of the entitlement to take breastfeeding breaks from six months to two years. The second is a new right for parents and carers to take five days unpaid leave for medical for parents and carers with children under the age of 12.

“Although this legislation has been on the books for a number of months, employers now only have one week to ensure their policies and procedures are up to date and that these two new employee rights are provided for.

“Employers also need to be ready to handle conversations with employees who want to exercise their rights under the legislation and ensure that they apply a consistent approach. It’s vital to avoid allegations of unfair treatment when dealing with family-friendly entitlements.

“Employers should begin preparing for the full implementation of this legislation later this year. The right to take domestic violence leave is the next step and this is scheduled to come into effect in the autumn.

“The Workplace Relations Commission continue to work on a Code of Practice that will provide guidance to both employers and employees around the rights to request flexible and remote work arrangements. A further update on the Code of Practice should also issue in the autumn.

“In the meantime, employers should review their existing employee handbook and identify what changes are needed to ensure the five new rights are addressed and that they are in a good position to handle requests from employees in a fair and consistent manner.”

--ENDS—