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Force Majeure Leave

Page updated 21 May 2024

A member of staff shall be entitled to leave with pay for urgent family reasons, for example, an injury or illness of a child, spouse/partner, brother or sister, parent or grandparent. This is called Force Majeure Leave and falls under the Force Majeure & Medical Care Leave Policy.

This leave is limited to circumstances where your immediate presence at the place where the ill or injured person is situated is indispensable. In this section you can find more about the Force Majeure process and browse Frequently Asked Questions.

Force Majeure Leave

(see Force Majeure & Medical Care Leave Policy)

Force Majeure Leave is detailed within the Force Majeure & Medical Care Leave Policy  This page contains a summary of the Policy but in all cases the Policy listed in the Governance Document Library remains the ultimate source of information.

Process for taking Force Majeure Leave

As soon as it is reasonably practicable upon your return to work after an absence on Force Majeure Leave, you must complete and sign the “Force Majeure Leave Application Form” below and have it countersigned by the Head of School/Unit/Line Manager and forward it to UCD HR at (opens in a new window)[email protected]  

What happens next?

You will receive an email from UCD HR confirming:

  • Receipt of your “Force Majeure Leave Application Form”
  • Your Force Majeure leave dates

Employee Assistance Service

We can all experience difficulties that leave us feeling anxious, overwhelmed and with a reduced sense of wellbeing. At times, all we may need is a little help, information or guidance, or at others – someone to talk to.

Lena's Employee Assistance Service (EAS) is a confidential wellbeing and support service available to you as an employee of UCD and your eligible family members. 

The service is designed to support employees and their eligible family members experiencing personal, family, emotional, financial, legal or work-related challenges by helping them access the most appropriate support for their individual needs.

Support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through our experienced Ireland-based team. 

Free. Confidential. Available 24/7.

Forms

Frequently Asked Questions

You can take it for urgent reasons relating to the injury or illness of certain family members as outlined in the Force Majeure & Medical Care Leave Policy. However, it is limited to circumstances where your immediate presence, at the place where the ill or injured person is situated is indispensable.

Yes.

Three days in any period of twelve consecutive months or five days in any period of thirty-six consecutive months.

Force Majeure Leave is granted to one of the following prescribed persons (as described in the Parental Leave Act, 1998, as amended 2019).

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

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

c) a brother, sister or sibling

d) a parent or grandparent

e) a person who resides with the employee in a relationship of domestic dependency

No, Force Majeure Emergency Leave cannot be taken for future scheduled medical procedure/appointments. There would be optimum time to a make alternative arrangements.

An employee may be required to produce relevant evidence such as medical certification or evidence as may be reasonably required in order to show that the person concerned is or was in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason.

Contact the HR Helpdesk

The HR Helpdesk is the primary point of contact for all your employment-related queries by email and telephone.  We are here to help you with any queries on employee benefits, terms & conditions and HR policies & procedures. If we can’t help you directly, we will refer your query to a HR specialist area.

All visitors to UCD HR, Roebuck offices should be by appointment only and arrangements to be made with specific HR staff members.

(opens in a new window)[email protected]

+ 353-1-716-4900

UCD HR
Roebuck Offices,
UCD Belfield Campus.

UCD Human Resources

Roebuck Offices, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 4900 | E: [email protected] | Location Map(opens in a new window)