TEMPTED to pull a sickie because your child wakes up with a mysterious rash? Or maybe you'd like to spend more time with your kids who are growing up too fast.

Unknown to many parents there are some helpful options when you find yourself in these situations.

Force majeure leave is provided for under the 1998 Parental Leave Act.

It allows employees to take time off for urgent family reasons owing to illness or injury where their immediate presence is absolutely required.

Parents are entitled to take three days in a period of 12 consecutive months or five days in a period of 36 consecutive months.

Most parents know that three days isn't enough to cover all of the year's emergencies -- and there are no entitlements to cover the little crises.

This often leaves parents eating into annual leave or calling in sick to care for their unwell child.

Parental leave is sometimes also not an option as it requires six weeks notice to your employer and it is unpaid.

The High Court held in favour of a mum who took a day off to look after her daughter.

When Ann Carey got up for work she noticed her daughter had a rash on both legs and decided to stay at home to observe her. When it got worse she brought her to a doctor but it turned out not to be serious.

Ann subsequently put in a claim for pay for the lost day's work under force majeure leave.

Penn Racquet Sport Ltd, her employer, objected to paying for her day's leave.

She lost her case in the Employment Appeals Tribunal where the plant manager told the tribunal that he did not believe a rash could be termed immediate and indispensable but that it was normal in bringing up children.

On appeal, however, the High Court found in Ann's favour stating she could not be assumed to have medical knowledge and the urgency of a family situation could not be judged in hindsight.

Besides illness, many parents would love to spend more time with their families but find they're constrained because they have a fixed amount of annual leave. But for those anxious to spend more quality time with their kids there are other workplace options.

Niall O'Connor is the Equality Officer with the ESB and is better versed in his rights than most workers -- particularly male ones -- and has taken parental leave for the last few years.

He takes three extra weeks in addition to his annual leave. Parental leave is a statutory entitlement so the leave has to be given by your employer -- only the timing of the leave is up for negotiation.

The only drawback is that it is unpaid.

For Niall, taking parental leave has many benefits both for him and for his family.

"I combine parental leave with annual leave for the family holiday for a good long break.

"It's great just to be with the children on holidays and bonding.

"Things like this reduce stress. I took the parental leave for the last three summers. That's three weeks on leave and three weeks parental leave," he added.

For Niall the major benefit is to be able to spend more time with his wife Ciara and three children Laura (12), Caoimhe (9) and David (6).

The Parental Leave Act 1998 allows parents in Ireland to take parental leave from employment for each child they have up to the age of eight and up to the age of 16 where the child has a disability.

Leave amounts to a total of 14 weeks per child. If you have more than one child, leave is limited to 14 weeks per year unless your employer agrees otherwise.

"I have three young children and want to be on holiday with them and enjoy them. For example, this year down in Dunmore East, Laura the eldest was doing a sailing course Level Two. She has an Optimist dinghy. The sailing course lasts for two weeks so you have to get her up and ready, get her wetsuit, bring her down to the place, dragging her boat out and giving her a hand."

"I did all that while Ciara was at home minding the other two. It's great to be there for all that."

Employer

The process of getting parental leave is worked out between the employee and their employer.Usually you must have been working for your employer for a year before you are entitled to leave, but if your child is close to eight and you have three months service you are entitled to pro-rata parental leave.

This works out at one week's leave for every month of service. Employers have to get back to you when you put in the request but they have the right to adjust the leave to suit their needs.

"They have the right to refuse it but they have to grant it to you within six months. People have been told it doesn't suit now, come back to me," added Niall.

Under the Act, grounds for postponing leave include lack of cover or the fact that other employees are already on parental leave and it is usually only allowed once.

Also, there's the pay issue. "It's quite hard to be without pay for a long time so that's why I only take three weeks," said Niall.

Other routine deductions also have to be recalculated if you're taking unpaid leave.

"There are a few things to be ironed out. The pension scheme is on hold. In ESB, for the first four weeks, they take the cost, then it's put on hold.

"You just make it up at a later stage. If you have any deductions at source you will have to make them up when you come back."

There is also a specific provision that if a couple are working in the same company and one of them cannot take up parental leave they can transfer unused leave to their partner.

Niall finds there is still ignorance about the right to parental leave -- particularly among male employees.

"There's a friend of mine who asked me why I was getting all this parental leave. I said you're entitled to it. He's now taken it because his wife had a new baby. It's brilliant," Niall said.

Also with the economic slowdown there may be reluctance to take up parental leave if workers are concerned about their job.

Larger companies are better equipped to handle parental leave and force majeure issues and often have guidelines on the topic.

Of course you also have to be prepared for a big workload when you come back from your extended break!

Relax

"In general it has been quiet in the summer but you'll have 600 mails or whatever when you come back.

"Work will build up but you just do it when you come back.

"It's a privilege to be able to go off for six weeks and relax."

Being allowed to step off the treadmill was the biggest benefit of parental leave for secondary teacher Clare Kenny, husband Paul and her two children Jane (10) and Peter (8).

Clare loved having a relaxed time with her son and daughter when she got time off from her job in Scoil Dara in Kilcock, County Kildare.

She took a total of 12 weeks parental leave.

"It is time you can't get back with your children, so it's priceless. You will never regret it.

"It is the best thing you can do for them," said Clare.

"Parental leave was a taster for me and led into a longer five-year career break," she added.

While on leave, Clare felt she got to know her neighbours and their children better, attended coffee mornings and was there to see her kids do the "little things".

"We all meet up for meals and all the children are still friends and it's a time that's full of lovely memories."

Now that Clare is back at work, if either Jane or Peter gets sick, she and her husband Paul find it very hard.

"It's really difficult. When these things happen we just muddle through.

"There is very little back up.

"I have had to bring them into work with me or call on my mum at short notice who has just retired," said Clare.

Mary Kirwan BL is a practising barrister with an interest in pregnancy and early childhood issues

- MARY KIRWAN