Following the introduction of the new sick pay scheme, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has said that "less people will feel that they have to go to work when they're sick" when it's introduced.
The Government’s statutory sick pay scheme will be phased in over a four-year period, starting with three days per year in 2022, rising to five days payable in 2023 and seven days payable in 2024.
Employers will eventually cover the cost of 10 sick days per year in 2025.
The new law is being phased in to help employers, particularly small businesses, plan ahead and manage the additional cost, which has been capped.
Sick pay will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of an employee’s wage, subject to a daily threshold of €110.
The rate of 70% and the daily cap are set to ensure excessive costs are not placed solely on employers, who in certain sectors may also have to deal with the cost of replacing staff who are out sick at short notice.
The daily earnings threshold of €110 is based on 2019 mean weekly earnings of €786.33 and equates to an annual salary of €40,889.16. This amount can be revised over time by ministerial order in line with inflation and changing incomes.
In a statement that was made online, Mr Varadkar said: "As you know at the moment in Ireland, only about half of employees have sick pay the other half don't.
"While you are allowed to take time off work if you're sick, there's no legal obligation on your employer to pay. That's going to change and it will kick in from the start of next year and every employee in every business - as long as you're more than six months on the job - will be entitled to sick pay."
Other features of the newly-published scheme state that an employee will have to obtain a medical certificate to avail of statutory sick pay, and the entitlement is subject to the employee having worked for their employer for a minimum of six months.
Once entitlement to sick pay from their employer ends, employees who need to take more time off may qualify for illness benefit from the Department of Social Protection subject to PRSI contributions.
The Tanaiste said that the new plans were impacted by the pandemic and rising concerns that people feel the need to work, despite being ill.
"I think it's something that we really want to do because one of the things we want to do after the pandemic is making sure that we build back better, that we have a pandemic dividend if you'd like. And this is an extra employment right, particularly for those in low pay and those in the private sector that currently have no entitlement to sick pay and have to wait until day four to get illness benefit from the state," he added.
"It means that if you're sick and you have to take time off work, you won't need to be worried about a major fall in your income for that week. As well as that, it means that less people will feel that they have to go to work when they're sick, and that can affect co-workers and customers, we don't want that either.
So it's another step forward, it builds on the seven increases in the minimum wage in the past 10 years, the introduction of maternity benefits, parental leave and parental benefit, restoration of treatment benefit, new rights for the self-employed, and as well as that you're going to be hearing about the new living wage, which I want to start next year and also auto-enrollment, and making sure that everyone has access to an occupational pension in addition to the state pension."
