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Guide · Leave from work

Time off for fathers: scans, classes, the birth and paternity leave

Almost every right around a pregnancy belongs to the person who is pregnant. The father, or the mother's partner, has a short list of their own, and it arrives in a fixed order: nothing for the scans, two paid classes, nothing for the birth itself, then two weeks. Here is the list, with the notice each item needs.

Calm illustration of a father carrying a packed hospital bag beside his pregnant partner at their front door, with a pram waiting in the hallway
Republic of Ireland · About a 7-minute read · Facts checked 9 September 2026

The question people search for is "am I entitled to time off for the scan?", and the honest answer is no. That surprises most fathers, because the law does give them paid time off for something, and it is a stranger thing than a scan: the last two antenatal classes. It then gives them nothing for the birth itself, and two weeks afterwards. None of this is intuitive, which is why it is worth having in one place, in the order it happens.

Everything below is written for the father, but the law mostly says "relevant parent": the mother's spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, the other parent in a same-sex couple, or a qualifying adopting parent. If that is you, read "father" as "you". The one exception is noted where it comes up.

The short version, in date order

Scans and appointments
No statutory right to time off. Annual leave, or whatever your employer agrees
The last 2 antenatal classes
Paid time off, once in a working life, with written notice
The birth itself
No leave for attending it. Paternity leave can start that day if you have given notice
Paternity leave
2 weeks in one block, any time in the 26 weeks after the birth, 4 weeks' written notice
Paternity Benefit
€299 a week for the 2 weeks, apply at least 4 weeks before (12 if self-employed)
Registering the birth
Within 3 months. Not married? Both of you attend, and your details are now required
Afterwards
9 weeks' Parent's Leave before the child is 2, 26 weeks' unpaid parental leave before 12

1. Scans and antenatal appointments: no right, so ask early

The pregnant employee is entitled to paid time off for every antenatal appointment. That right belongs to her alone. There is no statutory entitlement for a father or partner to take time off, paid or unpaid, to attend a scan, a booking visit or any other antenatal appointment. Citizens Information's page on antenatal visits sets out the employee's right and mentions the partner only for classes.

That leaves three routes, and all of them depend on your employer: annual leave, flexible or unpaid time if your contract or your manager allows it, or a company policy that goes beyond the law, which some employers have. The practical advice is to ask as soon as you have the appointment dates, in writing, and to ask for the specific hours rather than a day, since most appointments take a morning.

One thing you can use: if your partner attends an appointment in her own working hours, that time is hers by right and paid. If it can be arranged for a time when you are free, nobody has to spend leave.

2. The last two antenatal classes: paid, once only

This is the one antenatal right that is yours. An expectant father is entitled, once only, to time off work without loss of pay to attend the last two antenatal classes the mother attends before the birth. It comes from section 8 of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004. Once only means once in a working life, not once per pregnancy: the official guidance says it is not available again for a later pregnancy.

It fits together with hers. She is paid for one set of classes other than the last three; you are paid for the last two. Between the two of you the set is covered, which is the design, not a coincidence.

Give your employer written notice with the dates and times, at least 2 weeks before the first of the two classes, and keep a copy. Public maternity hospital classes are free, and at most hospitals booking opens well before the classes run, so the dates are usually known in time to send the notice.

A wording note. The 2004 Act says "expectant father". Citizens Information describes the same right as a partner's. If you are the mother's partner but not the father, the Workplace Relations Commission is the place to check where you actually stand, rather than to guess from the text.

3. The birth: no leave for being there

There is no statutory leave in Ireland for a father to attend the birth of his child. It is not covered by force majeure leave either: that leave is for the unexpected illness or injury of a close family member, and a birth is neither. So the day itself is annual leave, an arrangement with your employer, or the start of your paternity leave.

The third option is the one to plan for. Paternity leave can begin on the day of the birth, but only if the notice in the next section has already been given. Fathers who wait for the birth to tell their employer find that the two weeks cannot start until the notice period has run.

4. Paternity leave: two weeks, one block, four weeks' notice

Paternity leave is 2 weeks, taken together as a single block, at any time in the 26 weeks after the birth or the adoption placement. It is an employment right, so your employer cannot refuse it, but they are not obliged to pay you during it. Whether you are paid comes from Paternity Benefit, below, and from whatever your own contract says about a top-up.

You must give your employer at least 4 weeks' written notice of the dates. The notice must come with a certificate from your partner's doctor stating when the baby is due, or the actual date of birth if you apply after it. Twins do not double it: for a multiple birth there is still one single period of 2 weeks.

If you decide the dates before the birth, the arithmetic is simple: send the notice at least 4 weeks before the due date, name the due date as the start, and the leave begins when the baby arrives. If the baby is early or late, tell your employer as soon as you know so the dates can be adjusted.

5. Paternity Benefit: €299 a week, apply before you go

Paternity Benefit is the payment from the Department of Social Protection for the two weeks. In 2026 it is €299 a week, based on your PRSI record rather than your salary, and it is taxable but not subject to USC or PRSI. You apply online at MyWelfare.ie with a verified MyGovID and upload the employer's form (PB2) or, if self-employed, the PB3.

The deadline is the part to watch: apply at least 4 weeks before the leave starts, or 12 weeks before if you are self-employed. The PRSI conditions and the exact application steps are in our guide to Paternity Benefit. If your MyGovID is not verified yet, do that first, because the application will not go through without it.

Two notices, one week. The paternity leave notice to your employer and the Paternity Benefit application both need at least four weeks. Send them in the same week, around the 34-week mark if you plan to start at the birth, and the leave and the payment line up. If you are self-employed, the benefit needs twelve weeks, so that one goes out around 26 weeks.

6. Registering the birth: your details are now required

The birth must be registered within 3 months. If you and the mother are married, one of you can do it. If you are not married, both of you attend the registration appointment with photo ID and sign, or the mother brings the declaration forms in which you acknowledge you are the father.

Since 10 December 2025 the rule has changed for unmarried parents: a mother who is not married to the father is now required to provide his details when she registers the birth. The registration service writes to the father with the steps to have his name entered; if he does not reply within 28 days, the birth is registered without his details. There are exceptions the mother can claim by statutory declaration, for instance where she does not know who or where the father is, or where naming him would not be safe for the child. The practical change for a father who wants to be on the certificate is that the door is now opened for him by default, and his job is to answer the letter in time. If the 28 days pass, his details can still be added later through the existing re-registration process, so a missed letter is a delay, not a closed door.

The full process, the fees and what happens at the appointment are in our guide to registering a birth.

7. Afterwards: the two leaves people mix up

Once the two weeks are used, two further leaves belong to each parent separately, and they are not the same thing. Parent's Leave is 9 weeks for each parent, to be used before the child turns 2, and Parent's Benefit pays €299 a week during it; give your employer at least 6 weeks' written notice. Parental leave is 26 weeks for each parent, unpaid, to be used before the child turns 12, with the same 6 weeks' notice and usually a year's service.

An apostrophe is all that separates the names, and the difference is 9 paid weeks. Our guide to the four types of parental leave lays them side by side, and stacking the leaves shows the order that turns them into a year at home between two parents.

Who decides what

Three different bodies, which is part of why this is confusing. Time off and leave are employment rights, enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission: if an employer refuses the two classes or the two weeks, or docks pay for the classes, that is where it goes, and it has to go there within 6 months of the dispute taking place, extendable by a further 6 months only where there was reasonable cause for the delay. Paternity Benefit and Parent's Benefit are decided by the Department of Social Protection on your PRSI record. The birth is registered by the Civil Registration Service under the General Register Office. None of them is us.

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Official sources

  1. Citizens Information: Antenatal visits, including time off work
  2. Citizens Information: Antenatal classes, including the father's two classes
  3. Citizens Information: Paternity leave
  4. Citizens Information: Paternity Benefit
  5. gov.ie: Paternity Benefit, Department of Social Protection
  6. Citizens Information: Other types of leave from work, including force majeure leave
  7. Citizens Information: Parent's leave
  8. Citizens Information: Parental leave
  9. Citizens Information: Registering the birth of your baby
  10. gov.ie: Register a birth in Ireland, including the rules from 10 December 2025
  11. Workplace Relations Commission: Paternity leave

Facts checked against the official pages on 9 September 2026, and the Workplace Relations Commission time limit on 14 September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not decide your entitlement or resolve a dispute with your employer. Leave and time off are enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission; Paternity Benefit and Parent's Benefit are decided by the Department of Social Protection; births are registered by the Civil Registration Service. The law can change; always confirm on the official pages linked above.

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