Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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597. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) did not receive their full wages while on leave, which resulted in the person being out-of-pocket when their illness benefit deductions were subtracted; if she will request her Department to rectify the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11099/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The position is that staff absent on certified leave (which includes Assault Leave) must obtain a standard medical certificate from their doctor for school records. The staff member must also ensure that the school receives the medical certificates and enters the absences in a timely manner through the On-Line Claims System (OLCS). Failure of schools to input leave in a timely fashion can lead to overpayments of salary which the Department must recoup.

Claims for illness/injury benefit by staff paid on the Department’s payrolls are made to the Department of Social Protection (DSP). All forms should be fully completed and submitted to the DSP directly, by applying online or at the address provided on the IB1 and MED1 (Certificate of Incapacity for Work) forms, within 7 days of the start of the certified leave.

Staff should not send their DSP claims to the Department of Education for processing. The Department of Education recoups the Illness/Injury Benefit directly from salary based on the dates of absence as keyed by the school on the OLCS system. Timely recording of leave is essential to ensure correct payment of salary.

Where certified Leave is not recorded by the employer on the OLCS system, at the time of the absence, the Department as Paymaster will at a later date, apply a salary deduction, equivalent to the staff member’s Illness/Injury Benefit rate. It is the responsibility of the staff member to ensure they have claimed the Illness/Injury Benefit directly from DSP to compensate for this deduction.

In this particular case, the Assault Leave absence from 20th September 2024 to 4th December 2024 was input by the school on 10th October. Due to the way that the payroll operates, Illness Benefit deductions only commenced on 7th November. The late notification of the absence by the school meant that Illness Benefit deductions continued after this staff member returned to work.

The full amount of €2,397.34 was fully recouped by 16th January 2025. The payment that issues directly to the staff member from the DSP compensates for this deduction.