Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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When the Sick Leave Act 2022 commenced on 1 January 2023, the initial statutory entitlement was up to 3 days’ sick leave, which increased to 5 days on 1 January 2024. This entitlement could potentially increase to 7 days up to a maximum of 10 days. Section 6(1) of the Act provides that the Minister can, in consultation with the Minister for Social Protection, vary the number of statutory sick leave days provided for by the Act.

When setting the number of days, regard must be given to the state of the economy generally, the business environment and national competitiveness; the state of society generally, the public interest and employee well-being; the potential impact of making an order to vary the number of days; data on earnings and labour costs as published by the CSO; the views of employee and employer representative bodies and any other matters considered relevant.

In line with the requirements of Section 6, to inform the Minister’s decision in respect of the next phase in the rollout of the statutory sick leave scheme, research is being conducted on the impact of statutory sick leave to date. The intention is that findings from this research will form part of the evidence base used to inform the Minister’s decision on whether to increase the sick leave entitlement for 2025. A Ministerial Order to increase statutory sick leave days cannot be made until 1 January 2025. As such, a decision on the next phase of the rollout of the statutory sick leave scheme will not be required until Q4 of this year.