Overview
Paternity leave is available to eligible members of staff to allow them time off from work around the birth or adoption of their child or the child of their spouse or partner.
Scope
This policy covers all part-time and full-time employees of DPD Ireland provided that they meet the conditions outlined below.
Eligibility to take paternity leave
Paternity leave is available to employees who are deemed to be the “relevant parent” of a child. Only one person who is a “relevant parent” in relation to a child can be entitled to paternity leave in respect of that child. There is no qualifying period for entitlement to paternity leave.
Under the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 a “relevant parent” is defined as:
in the case of a child who is, or is to be, adopted, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the qualifying adopter of the child,
or
in any other case:
the father of the child,
the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the mother of the child, or
a parent of the child under section 5 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 where the child is a donor-conceived child within the meaning of Part 2 of that Act.
Entitlements and conditions
The following conditions apply to taking paternity leave.
Subject to eligibility and notification criteria being met, paternity leave will apply to births/ placements that take place on or after the 1st September 2016.
An employee who is a relevant parent may avail of a continuous period of two weeks’ paternity leave. The leave entitlement must be taken as a block of two weeks and cannot be fragmented into smaller periods of leave.
Paternity leave can begin at the time of the birth/adoption or within 26 weeks of the birth/placement of the child. The leave will commence on the date the relevant parent selects in his/her written notification. It should be noted that paternity leave cannot commence earlier than the expected date of birth or date of placement of the child and cannot commence later than 26 weeks after date of birth or the date of placement of the child.
In the case of multiple births, or where two or more children are being adopted at the same time, only a single two week block of paternity leave applies.
Paternity leave must be used to assist in the provision of care to the child or to provide support to the relevant adopting parent or mother of the child, as the case may be, or both.
Applying for paternity leave
The application form can be found in the Logbook Section in People HR. Once the form is submitted, it will be sent to your Manager for approval.
You must fill out and submit an application form not later than four weeks before the commencement of the leave. This can be found in the Logbook Section in People HR. Once the form is submitted, it will be sent to your Manager for approval. A medical certificate confirming the date of expected date of birth/certificate confirming the expected day of placement must accompany the request. The request must specify the commencement date of the period of leave.
We have created a video tutorial to show you how to apply for parental leave via People HR, Logbook Section. You can view this here.
Early confinement
Where the birth of the child occurs 4 or more weeks prematurely, the employee must notify the Company of their intention to commence paternity leave in writing, within 7 days of the birth. In such circumstances, the employee will be deemed to have complied with the notification requirements of the Act.
Postponement of paternity leave due to late birth/postponed adoption placement
An employee who is a relevant parent may postpone a period of paternity leave where the date of birth occurs after the date selected by a relevant parent in their notification to the company or where the date of placement is postponed in the case of adoption. The relevant parent may select another date on which paternity leave will commence.
Postponement of paternity leave due to illness of the relevant parent
In the event that an employee becomes ill before a period of paternity leave has commenced, the period of leave may be postponed. Notification of a request to postpone the leave due to illness must be received by the organisation as soon as possible after becoming ill and must be accompanied by a medical certificate. The employee must follow up in writing confirming the request to postpone the leave as soon as is reasonably practicable but not later than the day on which the postponed leave begins. The leave may be postponed until such time as the relevant parent is no longer sick. The period of postponed leave must end not later than 28 weeks after the date of birth or day of placement. The employee must notify the company when they intend to take the postponed paternity leave not later than the day the employee commences the leave.
Postponement of paternity leave when the child is hospitalised
If the child is hospitalised, the employee may request in writing to postpone all or part of their paternity leave. Postponement of paternity leave in such circumstances is subject to approval by the organisation. The company will respond to the request for postponement as soon as practicably possible with a decision on the matter.
Where the company agrees to postpone the leave, the leave will be postponed with effect from a date agreed by both parties. The employee will return to work on a date agreed by the company and employee. The postponed leave, which must be taken in a continuous block not later than 7 days after the discharge of the child from hospital or such other date as may be agreed upon between the employee and the company. The employee must notify the company when they intend to take the postponed paternity leave not later than the day the employee commences the leave.
It is important to note that if the employee falls ill during the period of postponement of paternity leave, and requests to be viewed as being on sick leave from work, the employee will forfeit the remainder of the paternity leave which cannot be taken at a later date following the period of sick leave.
Payment during leave
During paternity leave, relevant parents who have the necessary PRSI contributions are entitled to paternity benefit from the Department of Social Protection. Claims should be made on a PB2 form, which are available from the Department of Social Protection. The relevant parent must have a Public Services Card to apply for Paternity Benefit. If the relevant parent does not already have a Public Services Card, they can make an appointment to get one at www.mywelfare.ie. The organisation will complete the employers section of the form when it has been completed by the employee.
DPD Ireland will top up your DSP Paternity Benefit during Paternity Leave (i.e., up to 2 weeks) to bring you to the amount of your contractual base salary. This will be paid on a weekly/monthly basis, in accordance with the DSP Paternity Benefit. It is your responsibility to arrange and claim Paternity Benefit from the State. DPD Ireland will deduct the maximum weekly rate of paternity benefit payment from your contractual base salary. There is a minimum service of 12 months of continuous service required to avail of this benefit.
For qualifying employees on a fixed-term or specified purpose contract, any leave (or any other benefit) will last only for the duration of the contract.
Transferred paternity leave
Where a relevant parent entitled to paternity leave in relation to a child dies, an employee who is the surviving parent of the child will be entitled to the leave. This entitlement exists up to 28 weeks after the date of birth or day of placement of the child.
Annual leave and public holidays
While on paternity leave employees retain the right to accrue annual leave and public holidays as if the employee had not been absent from work.
Abuse of paternity leave
Where the organisation has reasonable grounds for believing that an employee who is on paternity leave is not using the leave for the purpose for which it is intended, the organisation may, by notice in writing given to the employee, terminate the leave and the notice will contain a statement in summary form of the grounds for terminating the leave and will specify the day by which the employee must return to work. If, following an investigation, an employee is found to have abused this leave, they may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Employment protection
An employee who is absent on paternity leave will be treated as if the employee had not been absent. At the end of the paternity leave, the employee will be entitled to return to their original job under terms and conditions no less favourable than those that would have applied if they had not been absent.
Complaints
You are protected against penalisation and unfair dismissal for claiming your rights under paternity leave legislation.
Disputes or concerns relating to our paternity leave policy or the application of the policy may be managed through our Grievance Procedure which can be found on People Online.
P.O Doc No 8
Issue 2
Issue Date: 18/03/2026
Next Review Date: January 2029
Documented by: Amy Shine
Approved by: Mary Gaffey