Leave of Absence Request Form (Ireland)

A Leave of Absence Request Form in Ireland records an employment request, entitlement, or HR particular and the information the parties need to action it, and is governed by the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015.

Irish employment law provides one of the most extensive frameworks of statutory leave entitlements in Europe, covering annual leave, public holidays, statutory sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, parent's leave, parental leave, adoptive leave, carer's leave, force majeure leave, and domestic violence leave. Each type of leave is governed by specific legislation that sets out the qualifying conditions, the duration of leave, the notice requirements, the payment arrangements, and the employee's rights during and after the leave.

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (OWTA 1997) governs annual leave (four working weeks per leave year for employees who work a standard five-day week) and the nine public holidays. The Act also imposes obligations on employers to inform employees of their leave entitlements and to maintain records of leave taken. The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced the first statutory sick pay scheme in Ireland, providing employees with a right to paid sick leave from their employer — initially three days in 2023, rising to five days from 1 January 2024 under S.I. No. 10 of 2024. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment confirmed in April 2025 that the entitlement remains at five days per year for 2025, pending further review, at 70% of normal wages capped at EUR 110 per day. To qualify, employees must have at least 13 weeks' continuous service and must provide a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner for each day of absence.

The Maternity Protection Acts 1994–2004 govern maternity leave (26 weeks' paid leave and 16 weeks' additional unpaid leave), with Maternity Benefit payable by the Department of Social Protection at the rate of EUR 274 per week. The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides for two weeks' paternity leave with Paternity Benefit payable by the Department of Social Protection. The Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (as amended by the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021) provides nine weeks' parent's leave per parent for children under two years of age (or within two years of adoption), with Parent's Benefit payable by the Department of Social Protection. The Parental Leave Acts 1998–2019 provide 26 weeks' unpaid parental leave per child for children under 12 (or under 16 for children with a disability). The Adoptive Leave Acts 1995–2005 provide adoptive leave equivalent to maternity leave for qualifying adoptive parents. The Carer's Leave Act 2001 provides up to 104 weeks' unpaid carer's leave to care for a person who requires full-time care and attention, subject to confirmation by the Department of Social Protection. The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 introduced five days' paid domestic violence leave per year.

A standardised leave request form helps employers manage these overlapping leave entitlements efficiently, confirms that the correct statutory procedures are followed, and provides a documented record for payroll, PRSI, and compliance purposes. Employers are obliged under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014 and the OWTA 1997 to maintain records of leave taken by each employee. Failure to maintain accurate records exposes employers to enforcement action by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and may make it difficult to defend claims by employees. The form also supports GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 compliance by confirming that personal data collected in connection with leave requests — such as medical certificates, pregnancy certificates, and carer's assessments — is handled lawfully, fairly, and securely. The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has published sector-specific guidance on the processing of employee health data.

An Irish Leave of Absence Request Form is needed every time an employee wishes to take time off from work, whether under a statutory entitlement or under the employer's discretionary leave policy. The form should be used for all types of leave to confirm consistency and compliance.

You need this form when you are: requesting annual leave or time off in lieu of overtime; taking statutory sick leave under the Sick Leave Act 2022 and requiring the employer to record and pay statutory sick pay; applying for maternity leave under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994–2004 and notifying the employer of the intended commencement date; applying for paternity leave under the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016; applying for parent's leave under the Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019; requesting parental leave under the Parental Leave Acts 1998–2019 for childcare purposes; applying for adoptive leave under the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995–2005; applying for carer's leave under the Carer's Leave Act 2001 to care for a person who requires full-time care and attention; taking force majeure leave under the Parental Leave Act 1998 due to an urgent family illness or injury; applying for domestic violence leave under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023; requesting compassionate or bereavement leave where the employer offers this in their leave policy; requesting leave for jury service or attendance at court as a witness; or requesting any other type of leave provided for in the employer's leave policy or the employment contract.

The form should be submitted with the required statutory notice for the type of leave being requested — for example, at least four weeks' written notice for maternity or paternity leave, six weeks' written notice for parent's or parental leave, and six weeks' written notice for carer's leave. For some types of leave (such as force majeure and domestic violence leave), advance notice is not possible by the nature of the leave, but the employee should complete the form and provide any required supporting documentation as soon as practicable after the leave is taken.

Employers should confirm that the form is made available to all employees (including part-time and fixed-term employees, who have the same statutory leave rights as full-time permanent employees under the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 and the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003) and that managers are trained to process leave requests consistently and without discrimination on any of the protected grounds under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015.

Under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015, enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), parties to this agreement retain rights under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2015 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 grants the WRC adjudication officers jurisdiction to hear claims. The Data Protection Act 2018, implementing GDPR in Ireland, governs personal data processed under this agreement. Revenue Commissioners require PAYE/PRSI compliance for all employment arrangements.

A thorough Irish Leave of Absence Request Form should be designed to capture all the information needed to process any type of leave request consistently and in compliance with Irish employment law.

The employee details section should include the employee's full name, PPS Number (required for statutory benefit claims submitted to the Department of Social Protection), payroll number, job title, department, work location, contact details during leave, and line manager's name.

The leave type section should allow the employee to select the type of leave being requested from a thorough list that covers all statutory leave types (annual leave, sick leave, maternity, paternity, parent's leave, parental, adoptive, carer's, force majeure, domestic violence) and any company-specific leave types (compassionate leave, study leave, jury duty, career break).

The leave dates section should capture the start date (in DD/MM/YYYY format), end date, total number of working days requested, and whether the leave is full-day or part-day. For phased or intermittent leave (such as intermittent parental leave), the section should allow the employee to specify the pattern of leave.

The reason for leave section should provide space for the employee to explain the reason for the leave request, with an indication of which statutory entitlement is being invoked. For certain types of leave (such as carer's leave, force majeure leave, and domestic violence leave), specific information is required by the relevant Act, and the form should prompt the employee to provide it. The form should note that information about health conditions and caring responsibilities is sensitive personal data under GDPR and will be handled confidentially.

The supporting documentation section should list the documents required for each type of leave, such as a medical certificate (Form MC1 or equivalent) for sick leave, a maternity certificate (Form MB1) issued by a medical practitioner confirming pregnancy and the expected week of confinement for maternity leave, a completed Form DWRS from the Department of Social Protection for carer's leave, and a Statutory Declaration or other evidence for domestic violence leave.

The payment and benefit section should confirm whether the leave is paid (and if so, at what rate — full pay, statutory sick pay, or the applicable social welfare benefit rate) or unpaid, and the procedure for claiming the applicable social welfare benefit (Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Parent's Benefit, or Illness Benefit) from the Department of Social Protection.

The manager approval section should provide space for the line manager to approve or decline the request, with a documented reason if declined, and the date of the decision. For statutory leave types, the manager should be aware that refusal is generally not permitted. The HR department should countersign the approval for leaves of more than one week.

The employee rights reminder section should include a brief statement confirming that the employee's employment rights (including the right to return to the same position on expiry of the leave, the right not to be penalised for taking statutory leave, and the right to accrue annual leave during certain statutory leaves) are protected under the applicable Acts.

The GDPR notice section should inform the employee that the personal data collected on the form will be processed for the purpose of administering the leave request and maintaining leave records, in compliance with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The section should identify the data controller and the retention period for the leave records. The forms-legal.com Leave of Absence Request Form (Ireland) template covers the mandatory elements under Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015.