David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If a person is out sick and is not being paid, the employer will have to replace him or her, regardless of sick pay. Okay. The other question is, with respect to the current sick pay schemes in operation by the companies Ms McElwee cited earlier, are there any reports of abuse of those schemes? Would that be a concern? Would Ms McElwee give us an indication of what that is? I have looked at some of the international research here which indicates that when good relationships prevail between workers and employers that abuse does not happen. In some instances in America these schemes have been expanded because it was found that productivity went up.

Regarding the other point Ms McElwee mentioned in regard to competition for workers, would some employers use the presence of a sick pay scheme as an extra way of attracting workers to their companies?