The provisions of the Sick Leave Act (“the Act”) commenced on 1^st January 2023 and provides that an employee shall be entitled, up to and including three statutory sick leave days in a year. From the 1^st January 2024, that entitlement to sick leave will increase to 5 days in a year.

Reminder of Key Provisions of the Act

• The entitlement for payment of sick pay is subject to the employee having worked for their employer for 13 weeks.
• A sick leave payment will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of an employee’s wage. This will be subject to a daily cap of €110.00.
• An employee will have to be medically certified as unfit to work to avail of statutory sick pay.
• In the event that an employer provides a more favorable sick leave scheme then the Act will not apply. In determining whether an employer’s scheme is more favorable, reference should be made to a number of factors:
• the period of service that is required before sick leave is payable;
• the number of days that an employee is absent before sick leave is payable;
• the period for which sick leave is payable;
• the amount of sick pay that is payable;
• the reference period of the sick leave scheme.
• Employers must keep a record of the statutory sick leave taken by each employee and retain the record for a period of 4 years.  Failure to comply with this provision without reasonable cause will constitute an offence under the Act.
• The Act also contains provisions where an employer is experiencing severe financial difficulties.

Authors – Ethna Dillon & Anne O’Connell

Read more articles from the team here