Update on the right to statutory sick leave in Ireland

The Sick Leave Act 2022 provides a statutory sick pay scheme for all employees in Ireland. This entitlement ensures that employees benefit from a minimum level of compensation if they are unable to work due to illness or injury.

Update to the entitlement

The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke announced on 8 April 2025 that the entitlement to paid statutory sick days will not increase in 2025 and will remain at five days. An increase to seven days in 2025 and 10 days in 2026 was anticipated but has since been paused.

Minister Burke stated the pause on sick pay entitlements is due to the concerns raised by business owners and representative organisations, namely those in the retail and the hospitality sectors. These organisations have consistently expressed concerns about the overall impact of such measures, particularly in the context of increasing labour, input and energy costs. Minister Burke further stated that the current allowance of five days paid leave strikes a balance, giving employees income protection for five days, after which they will be entitled to illness benefit.

Criteria for eligibility

In order to be eligible for statutory sick pay in Ireland, employees must have completed 13 weeks of continuous service with the employer. The employee must provide their employer with a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner and the certificate must state that the employee named is unfit to work due to their illness or injury.

The entitlement is triggered by the employee’s first statutory sick leave day. The leave must be in relation to a day / days when an employee would ordinarily work but is incapable of doing so due to illness or injury. The leave can be taken on consecutive or non-consecutive days. The payment is calculated at 70% of gross earnings, or to a daily cap of €110.

Case law

There have been several cases in the Workplace Relations Commission concerning sick pay, particularly when statutory sick pay is denied because the employer offers a sick leave scheme that provides overall benefits more favourable to the employee than statutory sick leave.

A significant decision concerning sick leave was in the case of A Worker v A Service Provider to Financial Services ADJ-00048825. The complaint was lodged under the Industrial Relations Acts; however, the adjudicator determined from the complaint form that it pertained to the Sick Leave Act 2022. This effectively converted a potentially non-binding recommendation into a binding determination on a statutory right. This decision underscores the importance for employers to avoid penalising employees for using statutory sick leave.

The respondent company had an attendance policy that managed absences in six-month periods. In September 2023, the complainant received a verbal warning for various planned and unplanned absences over the previous six months. He was absent again in October 2023, for which he presented a medical certificate and claimed statutory sick pay in line with the Sick Leave Act 2022. Due to his existing verbal warning regarding absence, the complainant was issued a first written warning for the October 2023 absence.

The adjudicator acknowledged that the company adhered to its attendance and disciplinary policy. However, since the written warning involved a period of certified statutory sick leave, it violated Section 11 of the 2022 Act, which states that an employee shall "during a period of absence from work by the employee while on statutory sick leave, be treated as if he or she had not been so absent". The adjudicator awarded the complainant three weeks' pay.

The decision emphasises the legal obligation to treat periods of statutory sick leave as if the employee had not been absent, therefore safeguarding employees from being penalised for availing of their statutory rights.

How Ogier can help

For information or advice on employment and the intricacies of sick leave in Ireland, contact the Irish Employment team via the details provided below.

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Disclaimer

This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.

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