Bank Holidays and Public Holidays
There is a public holiday on the first Monday in February, except where 1st February falls on a Friday in which case that Friday 1st February will be the public holiday.
Public holidays are:
- New Year’s Day (1st January)
- First Monday in February
- St. Patrick’s Day (17th March)
- Easter Monday
- First Monday in May
- First Monday in June
- First Monday in August
- Last Monday in October
- Christmas Day (25th December)
- St. Stephen’s Day (26th December)
Good Friday is not a public holiday and is a normal working day.
Leave
This table explains the differences between the types of leave for parents.
| Description | Applies to | Duration | Paid? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternity leave | Pregnant employees | 26 weeks and up to 16 unpaid weeks | Yes, It is paid for 26 weeks |
| Adoptive leave | One parent of the adoptive couple, or a parent adopting alone | 24 weeks and up to 16 unpaid weeks | Yes, it is paid for 24 weeks |
| Paternity leave | New parents of children under 6 months of age (not the parent who has taken maternity or adoptive leave) | 2 weeks | Yes, it is paid for 2 weeks |
| Parental leave | Parents and guardians of children under 12 | 26 weeks | No, it’s unpaid |
Parent’s leave | Parents of children under 2 years of age Parents of adopted children in the first 2 years of the placement of the child | 9 weeks | Yes, it is paid for 9 weeks |
| Leave for medical care | Parents who need time off work to deal with serious medical care for the child. | 5 days in any 12 consecutive months | No, it’s unpaid |
Holiday entitlement
An employee is entitled to 4 weeks holiday per year for a full time working week. Part time employees will have their holiday entitlement proportionate to their normal hours of work as stated in the Contract of Employment. This will include a pro rata entitlement to Public Holidays. If an employee joins part way through a holiday year the employee is entitled to the appropriate portion of leave based on the number of completed months of service.
Holiday entitlements are to be calculated by one of the following methods:
- 4 working weeks in a leave year in which the employee works at least 1,365 hours (unless it is a leave year in which he or she changes employment)
- 1/3 of a working week per calendar month that the employee works at least 117 hours
- 8% of the hours an employee works in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks).
If more than one of the preceding methods at (1), (2) or (3) above is applicable, the employee shall be entitled to whichever method provides the greater entitlement. However, the maximum statutory annual leave entitlement of an employee in a leave year is four of his/her normal working weeks.