Paid sick leave will become law in Ireland in 2022
Clodagh O’Donovan shares the key points Irish employers need to know
Currently employers can decide their own sick leave policy and must give employees written information on it. Irish employees have no legal right to be paid while on sick leave but this is due to change later this year.
Clodagh O’Donovan of Advance HR discussed the draft Statutory Sick Pay Scheme at our conference in March.
The statutory sick pay scheme – key points
- Currently in draft and not finalised
- Initially three days sick pay in 2022, with annual increases to reach 10 days by 2025
- 70% of wages to be paid by employers, capped at €110 euro per day
- Required service of 13 weeks plus
- Requires medically certified absences
It hasn’t yet been finalised and there are concerns, mainly around the mainly around the cost and difficulty of getting a medical certificate to be certified by a GP as unfit to work.
The draft scheme introduces sick pay for employees who have been working for their employer for 13 weeks. 3 sick days will be planned for 2022, increasing to 5 days in 2023, 7 days in 2024, and 10 days in 2025.
It’s proposed that 70% of normal wages would be paid by employers (to max €110 per day) and workers can take a complaint to the WRC if they are not provided with a company sick pay scheme. The Bill is primarily intended to provide protection to low paid employees, who may have no entitlement to company sick pay schemes, and does not prevent employers offering better terms or unions negotiating for more through a collective agreement.
Want to know more? Watch Clodagh‘s full presentation, below, from the 16 minute mark to hear her summary.