As part of the Union’s ongoing commitment to Work Life Balance we have been pursuing the introduction of paid paternity leave in An Post. In that regard, I am pleased to announce that we have agreed through the Joint Conciliation Council  three days paid paternity leave for fathers on the birth or adoption of a child.

Eligible employees will be granted the leave in respect of children born/adopted on or after October 19th 2007. The three days must be taken consecutively within four weeks of the birth, adoption or homecoming of the child.

Such leave will reckon towards the limits on discretionary special leave with pay specified in respect of serious and unforeseen illness of family members set out in Company Circulars 08/79 and 41/2001 as
 follows:

Concurrent with the entitlement to Force Majeure Leave, existing arrangements in relation to
 Special Leave for Domestic Reasons will continue to apply, subject to an overall limit of 5 days in  1 year and 15 days in 3 years. In certain circumstances a combination of both types of leave may  be granted but the overall limit set out in this paragraph will be applied.

Annual Leave does not have to be exhausted to avail of Paternity Leave.

What this means is that paternity leave has been ring fenced as a portion of existing special leave to ensure that  three days paid  paternity leave is available to fathers in An Post.  Eligibility requirements and the application process are detailed in the Company Circular which is attached for your information.