Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 19, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following:“(4) An employer found to have penalised an employee for exercising their rights to or entitlement to paternity leave shall be subject to a fine of up to €10,000.”.

I am sorry for being late; traffic was a little heavy.

The section deals with the protection of employees from penalisation. It lists penalisations such as the dismissal of an employee, unfair treatment of an employee and unfavourable changes in terms and conditions. It goes on to state that if a penalisation of an employee in contravention of subsection (1) constitutes dismissal, the employee can institute proceedings under the 1977 Act. In a case of unfair treatment or unfavourable changes in their terms and conditions, what penalties are in place to protect employees? That is the reason we have tabled the amendment. There should be some penalisation of employers who treat their employees unfavourably or look unfavourably on them in taking paternity leave.