The introduction of the Sick Leave Act 2022 in Ireland gives all workers the right to paid sick leave. It will be available to all workers, regardless of their illness.

Statutory sick leave refers to the entitlement of an employee to be paid sick leave payment by his or her employer, in respect of a statutory sick leave day.

How will it work?

The new Scheme will be phased in over four years, beginning with the introduction of an employee’s right to:

  • 2023 (Year 1) 3 employer-paid sick leave days per year
  • 2024 (Year 2) 5 employer-paid sick leave days per year
  • 2025 (Year 3) 7 employer-paid sick leave days per year
  • 2026 (Year 4) 10 employer-paid sick leave days per year

Sick pay will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of an employee’s wage, subject to a daily maximum of €110. The purpose of setting the daily cap of 70% is to prevent employers from bearing excessive costs, particularly in sectors where they may already face the burden of replacing staff who are out sick at short notice.

The primary objective is to ensure that employees who may not have access to a sick pay scheme provided by their company, are offered a minimum level of protection. It is also important to note that the legislation does not prohibit employers from offering more favourable terms, or unions negotiating for more, through a collective agreement.

An employee must present a medical certificate for each day they wish to avail of statutory sick pay. The entitlement is also subject to the employee having worked for their employer for a minimum of 13 weeks.

Once the statutory sick pay entitlement period ends and provided the employee has the requisite social insurance contributions, the employee may then qualify for Illness Benefit from the State (which is currently set at €203 per week).

What should a sick policy include?

A sick pay policy outlines an organisations rules and criteria that must be met in order to be eligible to receive sick pay. Terms that may be included in your organisations sick pay policy may contain the following;

  • The length of time an employee can receive sick pay
  • Instructions on how/who your employee should inform management of their absence
  • The amount payable for certified sick leave
  • Exclusions from the sick pay scheme
  • Long term sickness rules

What happens if an employee is sick during public holidays?

Employees who are on a period of certified sick leave, will continue to accrue annual leave and bank holiday entitlements as normal.

Annual Leave:

Since 1 August 2015, employees accumulate statutory annual leave entitlement during a period of certified sick leave. Employees on long-term sick leave can retain annual leave they could not take due to illness for up to 15 months after the end of the year in which it is accrued. Workers who leave their employment within 15 months of the end of the year in which this annual leave was accrued, are entitled to payment in lieu of this leave which was untaken due to illness.

Public Holidays:

A full time worker who is on certified sick leave during a public holiday, is entitled to benefit for the public holiday they missed (up to 6 months in cases of long term illness). If they are a part-time worker on sick leave during a public holiday, they would be entitled to time off work for the public holiday provided they worked for their employer at least 40 hours in the previous 5-week period.

However, they are not entitled to the public holiday if they are absent from work immediately before the public holiday and have been off work for more than 26 weeks due to an ordinary illness or accident, or for more than 52 weeks due to an occupational accident.

When does my employee need to provide a medical cert?

You should revert to your Company’s sick pay policy to determine this. Oftentimes, a Company may request a medical certificate to be provided after two consecutive days of absence. However, this will vary from business to business.

To avail of the statutory sick leave pay under the Sick Leave Act 2022, the employee must present a medical certificate for each day they wish to be paid.

Sick pay and Sick leave during COVID-19

Your business may face an increase of sick leave/absenteeism due to COVID-19. You should ensure your employees have been issued their employee handbook and aware of the sick pay policy within it.

If an employee has been requested to self-isolate due to COVID-19 or has tested positive, they may be entitled to receive COVID-19 enhanced Illness Benefit or a Supplementary Welfare Allowance. They should apply for this through www.mywelfare.ie.

Having a sick pay policy within your organisation is essential. This will ensure employees know what is expected from them, and what they can expect to receive. It avoids ambiguity and assists management effectively deal with absenteeism in the workplace.

 

We can support you with contracts of employment, employee handbooks, policies and procedures. Book a complimentary consultation today!