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EMPLOYEES WILL BE entitled to 10 days of paid sick leave every year from 2026 under new legislation.
Cabinet approved the Sick Leave Bill 2022 yesterday, which will legislate for a statutory sick pay scheme in Ireland for the first time.
Currently, there are discrepancies around Ireland in pay for sick leave, with most public sector workers receiving it but less certainty for those in the private sector.
Employers will be required to pay 70% of an employee’s wage on a sick day with a cap of €110.
The scheme will be phased in over four years and eventually provide for 10 days of paid sick leave in 2026, rising from three days when the bill is enacted, five days in 2024, and seven days in 2025.
The timeline has shifted slightly since the government first announced details of the proposed scheme last year when it said there would be 10 days of sick leave by 2025.
Workers in Ireland are already able to apply for Illness Benefit, but it typically does not cover payment for the first three days of illness.
It’s intended that the new paid sick leave scheme will fill the gap and reduce instances of employees attending work while sick.
An employee must have a medical certificate to avail of statutory sick pay, which is subject to the employee having worked for their employer for a minimum of 13 weeks.
When entitlement to sick pay from their employer ends, employees who need more time may qualify for illness benefit, subject to their PRSI contributions.
In a statement, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the pandemic “exposed” the precarious position of many workers around missing work because of illness, especially in the private sector and low-paid roles.
He said nobody should feel pressured to attend work while ill because they can’t afford not to.
“Ireland is one of the few advanced countries in Europe not to have a mandatory sick pay scheme and although many, we think approximately half, of employers do provide sick pay, we need to make sure that security, that safety net, is there for all workers, regardless of their job,” Varadkar said.
It has to be one of the legacies of the pandemic. It will be available to all workers, regardless of their illness.
“I fully understand that many businesses are struggling at the moment with additional costs because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the aftermath of Covid and Brexit and the disruption both have brought,” he said.
“That is why we have chosen to phase this in, in this way. We have made a big effort to design the scheme so that it’s easy to use, fair and affordable for employers.
“We’ve done a lot of consultation on this, with representatives from both the employee and employer side and although I know some will think it goes too far and others that it doesn’t go far enough, I think it has struck a fair and reasonable balance.”
The lack of statutory sick pay in Ireland has been raised for years as a deficiency in workers’ rights.
In 2020, ICTU Head of Social Policy and Employment Affairs Laura Bambrick, writing for The Journal, said that it “took a pandemic to shed light on the big failings in how we protect workers against loss of income”.
“In Ireland, with few exceptions, workers have no right under employment law to be paid by their employer if absent from work because of sickness,” she said.
Sick pay is viewed as a perk that employers can decide to include or not in a contract of employment.
“As a result, workers, mainly in non-unionised jobs in the private sector, are forced to continue working when sick or to turn to social welfare.”
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A positive move for workers but government must put in play assistance for employers who may struggle financially because of the additional cost.
@A -AFC: They are. Employers pay 70% upto 110€ per day. Part an parcel of being an employer now. Beggars belief its not in place for all employees in this day and age
@A -AFC: “Employers” have to pay workers for their holidays too. When that was being introduced, I’m sure the same bull was spouted that “employers” may need assistance from the Government. It’s part of being an “employer”. Remember, workers in for-profit organisations pay their own salary – when you cease to make more money than your salary for your “employer”, you become a financial liability.
Well done Government – you’ve just set a target for a swathe of the workforce out there, especially in the public sector. Slow clap.
@LaoisWeather: Public service already have paid sick days and have done for as long as I remember. But don’t let facts ruin your complaining over a positive move by the government.
@LaoisWeather: Most public sector workers already get sick pay. It says so right there in the article…..
@DaveB: It’s just been pointed out to me that PS workers have sick pay calculated over 4 years. Maybe a minimum level should be discussed rather than a misleading maximum.
@Roy Dowling: No where near what is being proposed. As I said, it will be seen as a target by a good proportion – especially those in public sector activities.
@LaoisWeather: public service has a gold plated sick pay scheme. On average a public sector worker takes 9 days sick a year. This costs the state over €350m per annum. Sure why wouldn’t you.
@GrumpyAulFella: or another way to look at it is the public service has been ahead of the curb in Employee welfare by actually looking after its staff and not forcing workers to turn up sick.
When the majority of the workforce shut down during the pandemic, it was public services that stayed open and processed PUP or illness benefits for the rest.
@A -AFC: It’s easy to pay over the odds when your business model doesn’t have to make any money and management isn’t accountable. Do you not think every employer would not like to give their employees 200k per year, 3 day working week, 30 days sick leave, 60 days holiday pay etc etc. Most employers care about their employees but they are striking a balance between reimbursing employees, offering a competitive price to their customers and trying to make a living themselves. This balance isn’t easy and lots of businesses go to the wall each year with business owners losing everything. Between this new sick pay, adding an extra bank holiday and 6% tax on all you’re employees salary this government are basically pushing businesses to look at out sourcing and sub contracting as much of their labour as possible. Its not going to be viable to employ people and still be competitive
Not saying this isn’t good news but smaller businesses are going to suffer because of this, at the end of the day for small businesses they will look at this as paying staff for not being there.
The extra bank Holiday this year was another day they had to pay staff for not being there. Its another overhead that’s going to have to be covered and the only way they can do that is by increasing prices or cutting staff numbers and let’s face it, going to the doctor and getting a letter to say you’re unfit to work isn’t the hardest thing to do. Again not saying it shouldn’t be introduced just pointing out the issues that will come from it.
They’ve laid the foundations of a proper sick pay scheme now build on it over the next decade 10 days is a good target but a little far away I’d like to see it implemented in a shorter time frame but employer buy essential. Hopefully they increase the 10 days to a 4 or 6 weeks
They need to update their research on this subject. The 3 days waiting went out in the last recession and employees with no company sick pay (mostly those in lower paid jobs) are not entitled to illness benefit for the first 6 days, since 2011!
@Aisling Lohan: It changed to 6 days in 2014, not 2011. And it Budget 2021, it changed back to 3 days.
You should probably do better research.
Booked myself in for a NCT with my doctor, still waiting
Another great step forward for employees. Studies show that paid sick leave does not increase sick days taken by employees because the vast majority of them are fairly conscientious at the end of the day – unless of course their general pay and other conditions are poor in which case the employers only have themselves to blame.
@Lee King Buckett: studies show? Look at the public sector absenteeism and the private sector! Public Sector better paid, better conditions and bevause sick leave is paid its far higher than the private sector where people don’t call in sick unless absolutely necessary as they don’t want to waste holidays.
@Anthony Guinnessy: link to this study please
@Rmaybe: and when I say link, I mean evidence that people in the private sector only call in sick when absolutely necessary because they don’t want tobwaste holidays. Because my experience of both private and public sector that people call on sick unnecessarily when they r underpaid and under resourced regardless of their employers status.
There’s you’re link, it’s widely known. Do you think public sector workers just happen to be sick more than private sector workers or how do you explain the phenomenon?
@Rmaybe: https://www.thejournal.ie/poll-public-sector-sick-days-2869650-Jul2016/
It’s even worse in Ireland. Anywhere sick leave is fully paid people take more of it whether its because they are sick, because their kid is sick or someone needs to be brought to the airport, any excuse.
Sick leave nearly doubles when it’s on full pay in Ireland. A company with 10 employees paying avg 750 per employee is looking at an extra 6000 euro per year 7500 when you add in the extra bank holiday and add in pensions tax that’s another 4500 so 12000 euro extra for a small business and that’s for low paid workers.
have your say