Paid sick leave is starting in Ireland
The Sick Leave Bill 2022 was approved on 20 July 2021. Employees Paid Sick Pay entitlement will start once the law is commenced. This requires a Ministerial Order and is expected shortly, once the law is commenced, all Irish workers are entitled to paid sick leave. Full implentation of the sick leave will be phased in over 4 years.
How much sick leave do you need to pay employees?
Once the law is commenced, employees will be entitled to a maximum of 3 paid sick days per year and will be paid 70% of their normal wage for each paid sick day taken.
This payment will be made by their employers, with a maximum limit of €110 to be paid per sick day taken.
2024: Sick leave will be increased to 5 days.
2025: Sick leave will increase to 7 days.
2026: Sick leave will be 10 days.
Which employees can claim sick pay?
To qualify for paid sick leave, an employee must:
• Be working for their employer for a minimum of 13 weeks.
• Provide a medical certificate from their GP to prove they are, or were unable to work.
Annual leave and paid sick leave
Sick leave days cannot be used against an employees’ annual leave, once they meet the Sick Pay scheme requirements.
Also, if an employee is out of work due to long-term illness, they can carry over any annual leave days they’ve missed due to their illness, for up to a maximum of 15 months.
Once the law has commenced, you should update your payroll software to reflect for this new employee entitlement.
Please free to contact us if you need any help with this change or other payroll or accountancy needs.