Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 22:

In page 15, to delete lines 4 to 12 and substitute the following: “(3) An employer who receives a request referred to in subsection (1) shall consider that request, having regard to his or her needs and the employee’s needs and, as soon as reasonably practicable but not later than 4 weeks after receipt of the request, shall provide a notice in writing informing the employee that—

(a) the request has been approved, or

(b) the request has been refused and of the reasons for the refusal.

(4) If the employer agrees to the early return to the original working arrangements but refuses to agree to the proposed date of return set out in the notice referred to in subsection (1), the notice under subsection (3) by the employer shall propose an alternative date for the return.”.

This amendment provides for a revised section 13G to be inserted into the Parental Leave Act. Section 13G sets out the procedures for when an employee is seeking to return early to their original working pattern. The new section 13G allows for an employer to propose an alternative date of return to the employee. This is to allow an employer additional time to put arrangements in place for an employee to return to their original working pattern.

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