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2 1981

MATERNITY PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES ACT, 1981

Part I

Preliminary and General

Short title and commencement.

1. —This Act may be cited as the Maternity Protection of Employees Act, 1981, and shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1981.

Interpretation.

2. —(1) In this Act—

the Act of 1977” means the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 ;

additional maternity leave” has the meaning assigned to it by section 14 ;

employee”, except in Part IV , means a person who is in an employment for the time being specified in or under Part I (other than paragraph 7) of the First Schedule to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 , not being an employment specified in or under Part II of that Schedule;

employer”, in relation to an employee, does not include an employer who employs that employee—

(a) on a permanent basis for less than 18 hours in each week, or

(b) under a contract of employment, or otherwise, for a fixed term of either less than 26 weeks or of which there are less than 26 weeks still to run;

maternity leave” has the meaning assigned to it by section 8 ;

the Minister” means the Minister for Labour;

the successor” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20 .

(2) In this Act a reference to a Part or section is to a Part or section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(3) In this Act a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

Persons to whom Parts II and III apply.

3. —(1) Parts II and III apply to female employees.

(2) The Minister may by order, made with the consent of the Minister for Social Welfare, amend subsection (1) so as to vary the application of Part II or Part III .

Orders and regulations.

4. —(1) The Minister may, in relation to any provision of this Act relating to notification (or confirmation of notification), vary by order any such provision.

(2) An order under this Act may contain such consequential, supplementary and ancillary provisions, including any provisions modifying any provision of this Act, as the Minister considers necessary or expedient.

(3) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this Act, including an order under this subsection.

(4) Where an order is proposed to be made under this Act a draft of the order shall be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

(5) Before making an order or regulations under this Act the Minister shall consult such organisations or other bodies of persons representative of employers and such organisations or other bodies of persons representative of trade unions or bodies analogous to trade unions as he considers appropriate.

(6) Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.

Voidance or modification of certain provisions in agreements.

5. —(1) A provision in any agreement (whether a contract of employment or not, and whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) shall be void in so far as it purports to exclude or limit the application of any provision of this Act or is inconsistent with any provision of this Act.

(2) A provision in any agreement (whether a contract of employment or not, and whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) which is or becomes less favourable in relation to an employee to whom Part II or Part III applies than a similar or corresponding entitlement conferred on her by either of those Parts shall be deemed to be so modified as to be not less favourable to her.

(3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting any agreement referred to in this section from containing any provision more favourable to an employee to whom Part II or Part III applies than any provision in either of those Parts.

(4) References in this section to this Act (other than the references to the commencement of this Act) or to a Part shall be construed as references to this Act or to the Part as amended or extended by or under this Act or any other Act.

Expenses.

6. —Any expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.