Leo Varadkar to bring forward his plan for workers’ right to sick pay

Government sources said a new bill would provide a “minimum” level of protection to employees who had no entitlement to a company sick pay scheme.

It is understood proposals to phase in a statutory sick-pay scheme over a period of three or four years will be considered.

This will start with a statutory minimum number of days per year – to be decided today – from 2022 onward, increasing in the years after that.

Final decisions on the design of the scheme will be taken at cabinet today.

The new legislation will state that the scheme will not prevent employers from offering better terms or unions from negotiating for more through collective agreements.

Sources said statutory sick pay would be phased in to help employers, particularly small businesses, plan and manage additional costs – which would be capped.

They said around half of employers already provided sick pay but some workers, including many lower-paid staff, had no such peace of mind.

Workers have no entitlement to sick pay, although many companies do provide schemes covering up to 100pc of wages for a limited period.

Those who are sick can claim illness benefit from the Department of Social Protection for up to two years.

Since March 1, the number of waiting days to receive the payment was reduced from six to three.

The lack of paid sick leave, particularly in meat factories, became a big issue during the pandemic, amid fears that workers would turn up despite having symptoms of the virus.

This is because very few employers in the sector have sick schemes, according to Siptu.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) social policy officer Laura Bambrick has said a move to bring in the legislation to require employers to pay their staff when they are too sick to work would bring workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities into line with EU norms.

Ictu published a recent information bulletin on the issue, entitled “Sickening! The state of sick pay in Ireland”.

It said nearly all European countries legally required employers to continue to pay a worker’s wage in full or in part if they became sick and unable to work.

If the sickness lasts longer than the sick-pay entitlement, illness benefit is paid to eligible workers through social insurance.

It noted that workers in Ireland have no entitlement to sick pay.

“Sick pay is at the discretion of the employer,” it said.

“Workers without paid sick leave have to work unwell or claim illness benefit.”

It said voluntary sick pay was not good enough.

“Ictu is calling on all politicians in all political parties and none to guarantee workers a basic right other European workers have,” it said.

It produced a chart showing mandatory sick pay by employers in high-income countries, including the Netherlands, was for up to two years at 70pc of a worker’s wage.

In Germany, it said it was six weeks at 100pc of a worker’s wage, and nine days at 100pc of a worker’s wage in Finland.

It said the entitlement in Ireland was zero.

Last month, Mr Varadkar confirmed he would bring forward legislation this month requiring employers to pay staff when they are sick.

Sources said Mr Varadkar was likely to publish a regulatory impact assessment on the sick-leave bill.

The new sick-pay law will follow a number of measures rolled out to enhance employment rights.

These include paternity benefit, parental leave, treatment benefit, and the extension of social insurance benefits to the self-employed.