A new law which will come into effect this September will see all workers entitled to paid sick leave for the first time.
The new statutory scheme, which Government signed off on yesterday, will make it mandatory for all employers to offer a minimum level of sick pay.
The new laws will come into effect as soon as enacted and be phased in over a four-year period in order to minimise the burden on businesses recovering from the pandemic, according to RTÉ News.
As it stands, Ireland is one of few European economies that does not have a mandatory sick leave entitlement.
According to RTÉ, around half of all employees do receive a level of sick leave as part of their contracts, but the remainder have no cover should they need to take time off work sick, and many are low paid.
As part of the new scheme, workers will be entitled to 70% of their wages up to €110 a day for three days – this will rise to an entitlement of five days paid leave in 2024, seven days in 2025, and 10 days in 2026 according to the Independent.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said:
The pandemic exposed the precarious position of many people, especially in the private sector and in low-paid roles, when it comes to missing work due to illness.
He added: “No one should feel pressured to come to work when they are ill because they can’t afford not to”.
Header image via Shutterstock
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