Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024

by Emma Quinn, Associate, Employment & Immigration Law at Eversheds Sutherland LLP (Ireland)

The General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024 (the “General Scheme”) was published by the Government on 24 July 2024.

There are three main objectives provided for in the General Scheme which employers should be aware of:

1. The postponement of maternity leave for those who require treatment for a serious medical reason;
2. The amendment of time limits for filing claims under the Maternity Protection Act 1994 (the “1994 Act”); and
3. The regulation of the use of non-disclosure agreements.

The postponement of maternity leave

As currently drafted, the General Scheme entitles employees who require treatment for a serious medical reason to postpone maternity leave for a period of up to 52 weeks. The Government is considering whether the provision should be extended to cover serious mental health issues. An employee must give their employer written notice of their intention to postpone maternity leave, providing at least two weeks’ notice before the intended postponement date. The notification must be accompanied by a medical certificate.

Time limits

The General Scheme amends the time limit for filing claims under the 1994 Act with the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”). Currently, disputes must be filed within six months of notifying the employer of pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, with a possible extension of six months for reasonable cause. This can lead to protections expiring before the employee returns to work. The General Scheme proposes to rectify this position by starting the time limit from the day the dispute arises, rather than from the date on which the employer is informed that the employee is pregnant, has recently given birth or is breastfeeding.

Regulation of the use of non-disclosure agreements

The General Scheme proposes changes to regulate the use of non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”), in order to address the power imbalance that often occurs between an employee and employer with regards to NDAs used to conceal information related to alleged discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and victimisation.

Under the General Scheme, NDAs will only be enforceable if requested by the employee and certain conditions are met, including:

• The employee must be provided with independent legal advice paid for by the employer before entering into an NDA; and
• The terms of the NDA must be set out in writing, be for a limited duration and have a 14-day waiting period after the NDA is signed to allow the employee to withdraw from the agreement (if they wish) before it comes into force.

It is anticipated the new legislation introducing changes in respect of maternity leave and NDAs will progress through the Oireachtas when the new term commences in September 2024. We will keep you updated once the legislation is published and moves through the legislative process.

About the author

Emma Quinn is an Associate in the Employment department at Eversheds Sutherland LLP (Ireland). She advises clients in both the public and private sectors on a wide range of issues affecting the employment relationship, from pre-employment matters through to termination of the employment relationship.

Emma’s advisory work includes drafting employment contracts, consultancy agreements, employment policies and termination agreements. Emma also regularly provides on-the-spot advice in relation to day-to-day matters to include grievances and disciplinary matters, absence management and performance issues, whistleblowing, working time, payment of wages, equality/discrimination and the enforcement of restrictive covenants.

Emma has experience in data protection matters and regularly advises clients in relation to data subject access requests and their obligations under the GDPR.