Most people find out about this entitlement after they have already used annual leave, or taken the appointments unpaid, or scheduled a scan around a lunch break. It is a statutory right, it has been one since 1995, and it is separate from maternity leave: you have not started your leave yet and you are not spending any of it.
There are three separate entitlements here and they work differently, which is the part that catches people. Medical appointments are unlimited. Classes are one set for one pregnancy. Your partner has a right of their own, and it is only two classes.
The short version
- Antenatal appointments
- Paid time off, as much as is necessary to keep each one, with no limit on the number
- After the birth
- Medical visits are covered for 14 weeks after the birth
- Antenatal classes
- Paid for one set, other than the last 3 classes in that set
- Your partner
- A once-only right to the last 2 classes before the birth
- Notice
- In writing, at least 2 weeks before, with the dates and times
- If it is refused
- The Workplace Relations Commission
Antenatal medical appointments
If you are pregnant and employed, you are entitled to paid time off to attend antenatal appointments. The regulations put no number on it: the entitlement is written per appointment, as much time off during your normal working hours as is necessary to keep that appointment.
To use it you should:
- Tell your employer in writing, with medical evidence of the pregnancy, that you need time off for antenatal appointments.
- Give at least 2 weeks' written notice of the date and time of each appointment.
- Be ready to show your appointment card. For any visit after the first one, your employer may ask to see it.
The pay matters as much as the time. This is time off without loss of pay, not unpaid leave and not something to be taken out of annual leave.
Missed the two weeks? There is a one-week rescue. If you could not give the notice for reasons outside your control, you keep the entitlement as long as you write to your employer with the explanation and the notice within 1 week of the appointment. Late is recoverable. Silent is not.
After the birth: the 14 weeks
The right does not stop at the birth. You are entitled to time off for medical visits for 14 weeks following the birth, and that period includes any time you spend on maternity leave. It is the same entitlement continuing, which is easy to miss because everything else about that period is described in terms of leave.
Antenatal classes, and why the last three are not paid
You are entitled to paid time off to attend one set of antenatal classes, other than the last 3 classes in the set. So on a typical set of eight classes, five are paid. That is not an oversight or a mean reading of the rule: the last three would normally fall after maternity leave has already started, so there is no working time to take off.
The entitlement is for one pregnancy, not for each one. It is not an annual right and it does not renew with the next baby. Classes usually start somewhere between 26 and 32 weeks, and public maternity hospital classes are free, so the cost is usually the time rather than the fee.
Your partner's two classes
There is a separate, smaller right for your partner: once only, paid time off to attend the last 2 antenatal classes in the set you attend before the birth. Once only means once in a working life, not once per pregnancy.
It is worth noticing how the two rights fit together. You are paid for everything except the last three, and your partner is paid for the last two. Between you, the set is covered.
One wording note, because it matters if you are the one asking: the regulation grants this to an "expectant father". Citizens Information describes it as a partner's right. If your situation is not the one the 2004 wording assumes, the Workplace Relations Commission is the place to check where you actually stand rather than to guess from the text.
If you cannot attend, the classes carry over
If you are unable to attend some of the classes for reasons beyond your control, and Citizens Information names premature birth, illness, miscarriage and stillbirth, the untaken classes are not simply lost. You can carry the entitlement into a later pregnancy and take the classes you did not get to, still excluding the last three of a set.
What your notice actually has to contain
The notice is where the entitlement is won or lost, and the requirement is short. In writing, as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 2 weeks before the first class or the appointment concerned. It must state the dates and times. Your employer may ask you to produce a document confirming them, so send it with the dates rather than a general request for time off.
The distinction to keep in mind is that this is a notification, not a request. You are telling your employer when you will be away and providing the evidence the law entitles them to ask for. Sending it late without an explanation is the one thing that puts the entitlement at risk.
Send one email at the start. The medical evidence of pregnancy is a one-off, and after that each appointment or class only needs its dates and times. Keeping it all in one written thread means you have the proof of notice in the same place, which is what matters if the entitlement is ever questioned.
Where this comes from, and who to go to
The right sits in the Maternity Protection Act 1994. Time off for antenatal and postnatal medical care comes from section 15 and the 1995 regulations made under it. The classes entitlement is newer: section 15A, inserted by section 8 of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004, with the detail in the Maternity Protection (Time Off For Ante-Natal Classes) Regulations 2004, which came into operation on 18 October 2004.
Employment rights during pregnancy are enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission, not by the Department of Social Protection. If your employer refuses the time off, or treats it as annual leave, or docks your pay for it, the WRC is where that goes, and it goes there within 6 months of the dispute taking place. That limit can be extended by a further 6 months, but only where there was reasonable cause for the delay, so it is not a deadline to sit on while you hope the matter settles itself. Our guide to Maternity Benefit covers the payment side, which is a separate matter decided by the Department.
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Official sources
- Citizens Information: Antenatal visits, including employment and the notice rules
- Citizens Information: Antenatal classes, including time off work
- Irish Statute Book: Maternity Protection (Time Off For Ante-Natal Classes) Regulations 2004
- Irish Statute Book: Maternity Protection (Time Off For Ante-Natal and Post-Natal Care) Regulations 1995
- Irish Statute Book: Maternity Protection Act 1994
- Workplace Relations Commission: Maternity leave and related entitlements
Facts checked against the official pages on 24 August 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. Employment rights during pregnancy are enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission. The law can change; always confirm on the official pages linked above, and contact the WRC about your own situation.