389 1. Current leave and other employment-related policies to

Maternity leave and Special Maternity leave (responsibility of the ) 389 390 There is a distinction between policies in the public administration - which comprises government ministries, government departments and government entities - and those pertaining to the private sector and which do not fall under the Wages Council Wage Regulation Orders (WRO). [...] Policies under the WRO include employees engaged in a contract of service in the private sector, and are outside the scope of this report. [...] The payment rate is the Married rate established for the Sickness Benefit. [...] The benefit level is equal to the sickness benefit entitlement: o 50 per cent of previous earnings for children under 4 years of age; o 25 per cent of previous earnings for children 4 to 8 years of age.400 Payments are made to parents by the employer who claims a refund from the State up to a maximum of 2 months leave per parent. [...] The four months can be taken on one continuous period if the child is between 0 and 4 years, in which case only 4 weeks of the entitlement will be paid at the applicable rate and the remainder is unpaid; if the child is between 4 and 6 years, only 2 weeks of the entitlement will be paid at the applicable rate and the remainder is unpaid; if the child is between 6 and 8 years, only 2 weeks of the e.