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Maternity benefit more generous in big businesses

A CSO employment analysis shows that maternity benefit payments were down on the 2016 figures.

The maternity and paternity benefits figures (published 2 June) show the rate of paternity benefit was almost 60% the rate of maternity benefit in 2019.

Maternity benefit was paid to 5.3% of employees in 2019, a decrease from 5.8% in 2016.

And over half (54%) of women in receipt of maternity benefit in 2019 received a top-up payment from their employer in addition to their maternity-benefit payment.

Paternity benefit was paid to 3.1% of employees in 2019, an increase from a rate of 2.9% in 2018.

Fewer than half (45%) of fathers entitled to paternity benefit did not take it in 2018.

Analysis

The analysis covers maternity and paternity benefits paid from 2016-2019.

Statistician Dermot Kinane said this morning: “Public administration and defence had the highest rate of maternity benefit at 8.3% of employees in 2019, while that same year the lowest rate was in accommodation and food service activities at 2.5% of employees.

“Maternity benefit rates were highest in large enterprises with 250 or more employees. 

One in ten (10.1%) women in receipt of maternity benefit in 2018 did not return to paid employment in 2019. This varied from 31.4% for those in agriculture, forestry and fishing to 1.2% in public administration and defence. 

The likelihood of a woman returning to paid employment drops with each additional child, particularly for those who have had four or more children. 

Income

Of those women who did not receive additional top-up income from their employer, the majority earned less than the weekly maternity-benefit payment amount from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

Just over one in five women (22%) who earned more than the weekly payment amount did not receive a top-up to their income from their employer while receiving maternity benefit. 

The rate of take-up of paternity benefit was below 60% that of maternity benefit in 2019. 

Paternity benefit, which was available from September 2016, was paid to 3.1% of employees in 2019, an increase on the 2018 rate of 2.9% of employees.

Rate

The highest rate of paternity benefit in 2019 was 5.6% of employees in public administration and defence, while the lowest rate that same year was in accommodation and food service activities at 1.1% of employees.

Paternity benefit rates were highest in large enterprises with 250 or more employees. 

Accommodation and food-service activities had the highest proportion of fathers who did not take up the benefit at 57.5%, while education had the lowest at 30.7% during that year.