People involved

Yourself, your HSE contact, HR at work.

This is valid for each of the persons who are required to attend the classes, included husbands, wifes, sole applicants and unmarried partners.

Process

Check you HR policy as regards Adoptive leave.

Get the HSE to provide a list detailing your meetings, appointments and courses dates.

Give HR 2 to 4 weeks notice. 

Information and documents you will need

Contact HR from work, at leats 4 weeks before starting your course, and submit a request for leave for the days the courses will take place.

You are legally entitled to these days off, whatever you hear.

The Adoptive Leave Act 1995 (http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1995/en/act/pub/0002/print.html) refer to the rights for adoptive leave of “an employed adopting mother (or sole male adopter)”, and in case of the death of the adoptive mother this is transfered to the adoptive father.

This is only valid for married couples adopting jointly, but it also only refers to adoptive leaves and extensions.

The important act here is the The Adoptive Leave Acte 2005 (http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2005/en/act/pub/0025/print.html) which section 7 adds a section 11A to the main act.

Just make sure you get from the HSE, as soon as possible, the list of courses and dates as per 11A, 3, a, ii unless you are in the position described in 11A, 3, c in which case confirm the dates with the employer and provide the ceritifcate later on the ground of delays from the HSE.

11A.—

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an employee shall be entitled to time off from work, without loss of pay, to attend any pre-adoption classes and meetings which the employee is obliged to attend.

[...]

(3) (a) In this subsection ‘classes’ refers to the pre-adoption classes and meetings mentioned in subsection (1).

(b) The entitlement of an employee to time off under subsection (1) is subject to his or her having—

(i) notified the employer in writing of the dates and times of the classes concerned, or the date and time of each class, as soon as practicable but not later than 2 weeks before the date of the first class, or the class concerned, as the case may be, and

(ii) produced to the employer, on request, an appropriate document indicating the dates and times of the classes, or the date and time of the class, concerned.

(c) Where the circumstances are such that, in the case of a particular class, non-compliance by the employee with paragraph (b) is not due to any neglect or default by the employee in relation to attendance at the class, the employee is deemed to have complied with the requirements of that paragraph if, not later than one week after the date of the class concerned, he or she provides the employer with evidence of the attendance and an indication of the circumstances which gave rise to the non-compliance.