Update – Paid Domestic Violence Leave

On 27^th November 2023, paid domestic violence leave came into effect in Ireland. The leave is provided for by the new section 13AA in the Parental Leave Acts 1998 – 2003, inserted by the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023.

Key Provisions of the Act:

• Entitlement of employees to take a statutory minimum of five days of domestic violence leave in any 12-month period.
• There is no minimum service required to qualify for statutory domestic violence leave and no eligibility criteria applies.
• No requirement for employee to give prior notice of the leave.
• The purpose of the leave is, inter alia, to facilitate an employee who is experiencing domestic violence to seek medical attention, to relocate, to seek legal advice, or obtain any other relevant services.
• The leave does not need to be taken in consecutive days by the employee.
• The employee’s employment rights should not be affected by taking domestic violence leave. The employee continues to accrue annual leave, and public holiday leave is not impacted.

A new website https://dvatwork.ie has been launched and employers can sign up through this website for free information sessions. An advice section for employers has not been set up yet, but it will be at a later date.

We recommend that employers inform themselves of their obligations to employees experiencing domestic violence. A key point for employers is confidentiality – employers should limit the number of trusted people with access to the employee’s information and should have policies in place to manage this sensitive employee information.

Authors– Jane Holian, Jenny Wakely, Anne O’Connell