Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

There has been a lot of discussion today about balance and now, on Committee Stage, the Minister of State is decimating, literally cutting by 90%, the penalty for the employer. In terms of the balance of risk and reward for an employer not abiding by this legislation and not providing the sick pay required, and the employee having to go through all of the steps to prove that and then get a judgment, a penalty of two weeks' remuneration is extremely minimal. The danger is that some employers, though not all, let us be clear, will decide that is a risk worth taking. Even if they get caught out, it will only be a penalty of two weeks' remuneration. That is very small, and I do not think it is in line with the idea of balance. Surely there needs to be a considerable penalty to discourage attempts to evade or not implement this legislation, and not give workers the sick pay rights that we are talking about. It is quite a serious change that I would be seriously opposed to. I would press the matter to a vote in this regard.

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