UCD Carer Friendly Flexible Working and Leave Options

UCD currently has a hybrid working trial in place which is under review. A new hybrid working policy will be considered and approved by UMT.

Job sharing is a way two people voluntarily share the duties of one post between them. Each job-sharer receives a pro-rata salary and terms and conditions for the time worked. Many people have responsibilities which make life/work balance difficult sometimes at particular periods of their working lives. UCD recognises that people in these circumstances should be able to continue their career and will welcome the opportunity to use their skills and experience on a part-time basis.

This policy aims to facilitate the embedding of core meeting hours across the University, as part of a range of actions to support a family-friendly working environment. Core meeting hours are defined as the hours between 9:30am and 4:00pm, Monday to Friday. They do not represent the working day, but rather are a subset of the working day. Meetings include all University, College and School level meetings, seminars, workshops etc. which employees are either required or invited to attend. They do not include timetabled teaching or assessment.

The Shorter Working Year scheme enables employees to take unpaid leave of up to 13 weeks with the possibility of spreading the reduced salary over a 12-month period.

UCD Policy and Guidelines for Employees taking Family Related Leave includes guidance for managers and employees who are carers to navigate the period before, during and after carer's leave.

This includes supports for academics who are returning from carers leave (24 weeks or more), are entitled to 50% teaching buy-out over two semesters on return from leave to re-establish their research career. As a research-intensive university, UCD is committed to support those returning from maternity, adoptive/surrogacy and carers leave.

All Staff are entitled to an upskilling grant on return from maternity, adoptive, or carers leave of 24 weeks or more.

A career break is a period of unpaid leave with a maximum duration of 5 years.

There are two types of Career Break, each with specific conditions:

• Career break up to maximum of 1 year: At the end of this period you will return to your substantive post with UCD.
• Career break over 1 year up to maximum of 5 years: At the end of this period you may apply to return to UCD and will be offered the first vacancy at the grade you previously held, which arises in the School/Unit in which you worked. The university will not be able to guarantee a position for a career break over 1 year.

Research Sabbatical Leave aims to support the University’s strategy by increasing the quality, quantity and impact of research, scholarship and innovation. Leave is granted for a specified period not exceeding twelve months at any one time.  

An employee is entitled to leave with pay for urgent family reasons, for example, an injury or illness of a prescribed person where the immediate presence of the employee at the place where the person is, whether at their home or elsewhere, is indispensable.

Duration of Leave: Employees are entitled to up to 3 days in any period of 12 consecutive months or 5 days in any period of 36 consecutive months.

Force Majeure leave only relates to a situation which is not foreseeable or otherwise not generally predictable. Routine minor and predictable illnesses to children or other family members which invariably occur are not covered.

Prescribed Persons:

1. a) a person of whom the employee is the relevant parent or acting in loco parentis,
2. b) a spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant of the employee,
3. c) a brother, sister, sibling,
4. d) a parent or grandparent
5. e) a person who resides with the employee in a relationship of domestic dependency

Further information can be found in the UCD Force Majeure and Medical Care Leave Policy.

Medical Care leave provides short term unpaid leave from work to provide personal care or support to a prescribed person that needs significant care or support for a serious medical reason. Medical Care leave can be used in a flexible way for parents or carers that need time off from work in situations that can be unpredictable or in some cases pre-planned. UCD defines a serious medical reason as a disability, illness or injury that requires an employee to

provide care or support to a prescribed person either at home or in a healthcare setting.

Duration of Leave: The entitlement to Medical Care leave extends to 5 working days in any period of 12 consecutive months. The minimum leave taken at a time is 1 day. Half or part days are counted as 1 full day in terms of total entitlement.

Prescribed person (as described in the Work Life Balance Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023)

Medical Care leave is granted to one of the following prescribed persons.

(a) a person of whom the employee is the relevant parent or acting in loco parentis,

(b) the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the employee,

(c) a parent or grandparent of the employee,

(d) a brother, sister or sibling of the employee,

(e) a person other than one specified in any of paragraphs (a) to (d), who lives in the same

household as the employee and is in need of significant care or support for serious medical

reasons.

Further information can be found in the UCD Force Majeure and Medical Care Leave Policy.

Provides for the temporary absence from employment of employees for the purpose of the provision of full-time care and attention to a person requiring it, while protecting the employee's employment rights. Carer’s Leave is unpaid but your role is kept open for when you return.  If you have enough PRSI contributions, you can apply for Carer’s Benefit. If you do not have enough PRSI contributions, you can apply for a means-tested Carer’s Allowance.

Duration of Leave: The minimum period of leave is 13 weeks and the maximum period is 104 weeks. If an employee requires less than 13-weeks, this can be provided to an employee in agreement with the employee’s manager.

Carer’s leave can be taken as a continuous block of 104 weeks for each prescribed person, or, by agreement with the employer, shorter periods adding up to 104 weeks. If the leave is broken up there must be at least six weeks between the leave periods.

Working during Carer’s Leave:

The employee can work or  attend an educational or training course or do voluntary work  for up to 18.5 hours a week in employment or self-employment while they are on carer’s leave, as long as they earn less than €350 a week.  From June 2024, the income disregard for Carer's Allowance will increase to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple. (This is their take-home pay after deductions such as tax, PRSI and union dues.) (This is their take-home pay after deductions such as tax, PRSI and union dues.) Before commencing work or training, it must be approved by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs.

Faculty: are entitled to a phased increase in teaching activity over the course of the first calendar year following their return, typically averaging 50% commitment over that year if they are on Carer’s Leave for 24 weeks or more as per the Support for Family Related Leave Policy and Guidelines.

All employees: are entitled to a €500 upskilling and networking grant if they are on Carer's Leave for 24 weeks or more as per the Support for Family Related Leave Policy.