[Ireland] New sick leave scheme entitles workers to up to €550

Under a new sick leave scheme, workers in Ireland are now entitled to a payment worth up to €550 over a period of five days, Irish Mirror reports.

New rules coming into effect from January 1, 2024, will see the number of Statutory Sick Leave days increase from three to five.

If a worker's first instance of illness in the year is less than five days, their remaining statutory sick leave days will be applied to any subsequent instance or instances of illness, according to reporting from RSVP Live.

Statutory Sick Pay is Ireland’s legal minimum sick pay. The entitlement to paid sick leave is reportedly being phased in over four years and will increase as follows:

• 2023 - 3 days covered
• 2024 - 5 days covered
• 2025 - 7 days covered
• 2026 - 10 days covered

Sick days can be taken as consecutive days or non-consecutive days. The sick pay year is the calendar year; it runs from January 1 to December 31.

Full-time and part-time employees can both take three days of paid sick leave. However, the amount an individual will get paid for their sick leave is based on the average of their pay over the 13 weeks before they are on sick leave.

Workers with more than one job or who have multiple employers can get three days of paid sick leave from each employer once they have had 13 weeks of service with that employer before the period of sickness.

How sick pay is calculated

The statutory sick leave payment must reportedly be paid at a worker’s normal daily rate. They are entitled to 70 per cent of their normal pay, up to a maximum €110 a day.

Normal daily pay includes any regular bonus or allowance which does not change from week to week. It excludes overtime or commission.

However, if an individual’s pay changes from week to week, their sick pay is the average of their pay over the 13 weeks before they are on sick leave.

Who is eligible?

To qualify for statutory sick pay a worker must:

• Be an employee
• Have worked for their employer for at least 13 continuous weeks before they are sick
• Be certified by a GP as unable to work

A worker is eligible for sick pay if they are:

• On probation
• Undergoing training (interns)
• An apprentice
• An agency worker

Source: Irish Mirror

(Link via original reporting)

Under a new sick leave scheme, workers in Ireland are now entitled to a payment worth up to €550 over a period of five days, Irish Mirror reports.

New rules coming into effect from January 1, 2024, will see the number of Statutory Sick Leave days increase from three to five.

If a worker's first instance of illness in the year is less than five days, their remaining statutory sick leave days will be applied to any subsequent instance or instances of illness, according to reporting from RSVP Live.

Statutory Sick Pay is Ireland’s legal minimum sick pay. The entitlement to paid sick leave is reportedly being phased in over four years and will increase as follows:

• 2023 - 3 days covered
• 2024 - 5 days covered
• 2025 - 7 days covered
• 2026 - 10 days covered

Sick days can be taken as consecutive days or non-consecutive days. The sick pay year is the calendar year; it runs from January 1 to December 31.

Full-time and part-time employees can both take three days of paid sick leave. However, the amount an individual will get paid for their sick leave is based on the average of their pay over the 13 weeks before they are on sick leave.

Workers with more than one job or who have multiple employers can get three days of paid sick leave from each employer once they have had 13 weeks of service with that employer before the period of sickness.

How sick pay is calculated

The statutory sick leave payment must reportedly be paid at a worker’s normal daily rate. They are entitled to 70 per cent of their normal pay, up to a maximum €110 a day.

Normal daily pay includes any regular bonus or allowance which does not change from week to week. It excludes overtime or commission.

However, if an individual’s pay changes from week to week, their sick pay is the average of their pay over the 13 weeks before they are on sick leave.

Who is eligible?

To qualify for statutory sick pay a worker must:

• Be an employee
• Have worked for their employer for at least 13 continuous weeks before they are sick
• Be certified by a GP as unable to work

A worker is eligible for sick pay if they are:

• On probation
• Undergoing training (interns)
• An apprentice
• An agency worker

Source: Irish Mirror

(Link via original reporting)