Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if it is incumbent upon an employer to provide all employees with three days sick leave on full pay in 2023 without requiring proof of a sick note from a GP or doctor, in relation to the Sick Leave Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7049/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Sick Leave Act 2022 commenced on 1st January 2023, and introduced a new statutory right to employer-paid sick leave.

This Act provides protection to employees who do not currently have employer-paid sick pay schemes, many of whom are low-paid and cannot afford to miss work. As a starting point, the scheme provides an entitlement to 3 days employer-paid sick leave. In many cases this will cover the 3 "waiting days" before eligibility for Illness Benefit from the State. The entitlement will rise from the initial 3 days to five days from January 2024, to 7 days from January 2025, and to 10 days from January 2026 onward.

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% is set to ensure excessive costs are not placed on employers, who in certain sectors also have to deal with the cost of replacing staff who are out sick.

This progressive Act ensures that employees have financial protection from day one of a medically certified absence and it is being introduced on a phased basis in order to take account of the current economic climate and the existing financial pressures on businesses. An employer is only required to provide sick pay in respect of a medically certified absence and at the lower of 70% of the employee's wage or €110 per day.