In the past we topped up maternity benefit (to the level of their current pay) for staff on maternity leave. However, due to financial constraints we have informed staff that we will not be doing this in the future. A staff member’s representative has written to us stating that this is in contravention of the employment equality acts on the grounds that this cost saving measure disproportionately impacts on staff members due to family status and is thus counter to the employment equality acts. Is this true?

Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A ROI on 5 November 2013
Zelda Cunningham
Arthur Cox
Issues covered:

Under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2004, employers are not obliged to pay maternity leave. However, employees will be entitled to rely on the provisions of their contract of employment, if it (or any company policy document) provides that they are entitled to maternity pay at a particular rate. Changes to terms and conditions of employment, including maternity pay, must be agreed with the employee in question. In circumstances where a contract of employment does not specify entitlement to maternity pay at a certain rate, it is open to employees to argue that a custom and practice developed within the company which provided them with an entitlement to maternity pay.

If the reduction

Already a subscriber?

Click here to login and access the full article.

Don't miss out, start your free trial today!

Are you fully aware of the benefits of Legal-Island's Irish Employment Law Hub? We help thousands of people like you understand how the latest changes in Irish employment law impact your business through a mix of case law analysis and in-depth articles. All delivered right to your inbox.

We help you to understand the ramifications of each important case from Ireland and Europe.

We help you ensure that your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with Irish law.

You will receive regular updates on Irish employment law including case law reviews, legislative changes, topical updates as well as answers to your burning questions through our Q&A feature.

You will have 24/7 access to the Employment Law Hub so you can research case law and HR issues when you need to.

Already a subscriber, now or Start my free trial today

Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 02/09/2015
Disclaimer:

The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.

Zelda Cunningham
Arthur Cox

The main content of this article was provided by Zelda Cunningham. Contact telephone number is +353 1 618 0000 or email zelda.cunningham@arthurcox.com

View all articles by Zelda Cunningham