A Government plan to give all workers the right to paid sick leave has been approved by the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The committee is recommending that all employees be entitled to the right of statutory sick pay to ensure workers on all forms of employment contracts receive the same protections.
The committee members have expressed concern about the requirement for medical certification, saying they did not want it to act as an additional obstacle and are recommending that some form of rebate of the cost of such certification should be made available to ease the financial burden on employees, particularly those who are low paid.
The 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 ten sick days per year in 2025. Statutory sick pay will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of an employee’s wage, subject to a daily maximum of €110.
