Entitlement to statutory sick leave to remain at five days

Statement from Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, TD

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, TD, has today confirmed that entitlement to paid statutory sick leave will remain at five days per calendar year.

Statutory sick leave was introduced for the first time in 2023 when the entitlement was set at three days per calendar year; it moved to five days from January 1, 2024.

Minister Burke said: “As Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, I am committed to promoting working conditions in Ireland and boosting job creation. I must also ensure that we create a regulatory environment that allows businesses to remain viable, and to thrive.

“Since the introduction of statutory sick leave in 2023, and subsequently the increase in the sick leave entitlement in 2024, business owners and representative organisations, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors, have consistently raised concerns about the cumulative impact of such regulatory measures in light of rising labour, input and energy costs.

“Five days’ sick leave strikes the right balance. It gives workers income protection for five days, after which Illness Benefit is there to support them.”

Paid sick leave ensures that employees are entitled to a minimum level of financial compensation if they are unable to work due to illness or injury.

Workers will be entitled to up to five days of sick leave in a calendar year, paid at 70% of gross earnings, up to a daily cap of €110.

The goal of the legislation is to provide a level of financial protection to employees, often in low-paid, precarious roles, who are genuinely unfit to work due to illness or injury but who do not have access to a company sick leave scheme.

The illness benefit scheme operated by the Department of Social Protection remains available to eligible employees once they have exhausted their entitlement to employer-paid sick leave.

Research by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on sick leave in Ireland found that firms in the retail, accommodation and food services sectors are likely to be more affected should the statutory sick leave entitlement increase from five days to seven days.

Separately, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is currently working on an analysis of closures in the hospitality sector. This work is being completed as a matter of priority.