Paternity leave in Ireland: two weeks, notice and Paternity Benefit

Paternity leave gives a father, or another relevant parent, two weeks off work in the first six months of a child's life, with Paternity Benefit from the Department of Social Protection and the same job to come back to. This guide covers who qualifies, when the leave can be taken, the notice you must give, how to claim the benefit, the self-employed position, and your protection against being treated badly for taking it.

The law is the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016. The benefit rate is the one in force from January 2026.

The entitlement in one table

Who is a relevant parent

The Act does not use the word father on its own. It gives the leave to the "relevant parent" of a child, which covers:

• the father of the child;
• the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the mother;
• the parent of a donor-conceived child who is not the mother;
• in an adoption, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the adopting mother, or, where a couple adopts jointly, the parent who is not taking adoptive leave.

So a same-sex partner of the mother qualifies, as does a cohabitant who is not the biological father. Only one person can take paternity leave for a given child. The mother cannot take it, because the leave is designed to sit alongside her maternity leave; her entitlements are in maternity leave and Maternity Benefit.

When the two weeks can be taken

The leave is two consecutive weeks. It cannot be split into separate days or two separate weeks. You choose when it starts, as long as the start date falls within the 26 weeks after the birth, or after the day of placement in an adoption.

You can start on the day of the birth itself, or on any later day within the window. If the expected date of birth moves, the Act allows you to change your chosen dates, and the employer should accept a revised notice. If the baby is born earlier than expected, the window runs from the actual date of birth and you can bring your leave forward.

Where the child is in hospital after the birth, you can ask your employer to postpone the leave, or the rest of it, until the child comes home, with the leave then starting within seven days of discharge. The employer may agree to that or not, so ask early and in writing.

The leave planner works out the latest start date for your two weeks and the date by which your written notice must reach the employer.

Notice to your employer

You must give your employer at least four weeks' written notice of your intention to take paternity leave, stating the start date. The employer can ask for evidence of the expected date of birth, usually a certificate from the mother's doctor, or of the placement date in an adoption. A short letter or email is enough; keep a copy.

If you want to change the start date, give the employer a fresh written notice. The four weeks run from the new notice unless the employer agrees to less. Where the baby arrives early and four weeks is impossible, the Act allows the leave to be taken with as much notice as is reasonably practicable; tell the employer as soon as you know.

Paternity Benefit: €299 a week and how to claim

Paternity Benefit is paid by the Department of Social Protection for the two weeks of leave. The rate from January 2026 is €299 a week. It is taxable, but not subject to USC or PRSI. Any Budget change to the rate takes effect from the following January and is tracked on /changes.

You need enough PRSI contributions in the right class in a tax year the Department treats as relevant. The exact numbers are on the Department's Paternity Benefit page and this site does not restate them, because only the Department can confirm your record. The acronyms used here are explained in the glossary.

To claim:

1. Apply online through MyWelfare with a verified MyGovID account, before the leave starts. The Department asks for the claim some weeks in advance and its page gives the current lead time.
2. Your employer completes a certificate confirming your leave dates and that you are entitled to the leave. Ask HR for it as soon as you have given your notice.
3. The Department confirms the claim and pays the two weeks into your bank account.

If you are refused the benefit because your contributions fall short, the leave itself is unaffected. You still have two weeks off and the right to return; you simply have no State payment for them.

Does your employer pay you?

Not under the Act. Pay during paternity leave comes from Paternity Benefit unless your contract, handbook or a collective agreement provides a top-up. Many larger employers and the public service pay the difference between the benefit and your salary for the two weeks, on condition that the benefit is paid to the employer or deducted from pay. Check the family leave section of your contract or handbook before you plan your finances.

Self-employed fathers

The two weeks of leave are an employment right under the Act, so a self-employed person does not have an employer to take leave from. The benefit is different: Paternity Benefit is open to self-employed people who pay Class S PRSI and meet the Department's contribution conditions. A self-employed father applies in the same way through MyWelfare, with a declaration about ceasing work for the two weeks instead of an employer's certificate.

Your job and your protection

While you are on paternity leave your contract continues, your service is unbroken, and you are treated as if you had been at work for everything except pay. Annual leave keeps accruing and a public holiday falling in the two weeks is added to your entitlement. The accrual rules are in annual leave entitlement in Ireland.

You are entitled to return to the job you held before, under the same contract and on terms no less favourable, or, if that is not reasonably practicable, to suitable alternative work on terms not substantially less favourable.

Under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015, a dismissal wholly or mainly because you took or asked for paternity leave is treated as unfair, and the usual 12 months' service requirement does not apply. Being treated less favourably for taking the leave, such as losing a bonus, being moved to worse shifts or being passed over for promotion, may also be penalisation under the Act and discrimination on the family status ground under the Employment Equality Acts.

A complaint about a refusal of leave, a penalty for taking it, or a dismissal connected to it goes to the WRC within six months of the event, extendable to twelve for reasonable cause. Start with how to make a WRC complaint, and if the job ended, unfair dismissal in Ireland.

Paternity leave and the other leaves

Paternity leave is the shortest of the family leaves and it is often used first. After it, the same parent can take:

• Parent's leave: nine weeks within two years of the birth, paid by Parent's Benefit at the same €299 rate, in one or more blocks, not transferable to the other parent.
• Parental leave: 26 weeks unpaid for each child before the child turns 12 (16 where the child has a disability), with six weeks' notice.
• Force majeure leave: three paid days in 12 months for a family emergency.

None of these is reduced by taking paternity leave. The planner can lay all of them out on one timeline for the first two years.

Where this leaves you

You have two weeks, taken together, starting any time in the 26 weeks after the birth or placement, with four weeks' written notice to your employer and Paternity Benefit of €299 a week from the Department. Your job is protected, your service continues, and an employer who refuses the leave or holds it against you is open to a WRC complaint.

Use the leave planner to fix the dates: enter the due date or the placement date, choose your start date, and it gives you the notice deadline for your employer and the point by which your benefit claim should be in.