Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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104. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the work his Department has undertaken in relation to reviewing sick leave entitlements and how it interacts with other entitlements such as maternity leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21318/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Sick Leave Act 2022, which commenced on 1 January 2023, introduced a new statutory entitlement 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 of employer-paid sick leave in the case of certified illness. 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.

This progressive Act ensures that employees have financial protection from day one of a medically certified absence.

Because the amount of statutory employer-paid sick leave is set at 3 days per year, the interaction with entitlements such as maternity leave, which must be taken in one continuous block, are marginal. There is no provision for postponing maternity leave due to sickness arising during maternity leave.