Publication
Illness Benefit, Injury Benefit and Statutory Sick Leave in 2024
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The Sick Leave Act 2022 provides for a Statutory Sick Leave scheme for all employees who have been with their current employer for at least 13 weeks.
From 1 January 2024 the number of Statutory Sick Leave days will increase from 3 to 5. This means you will be paid by your employer under the Statutory Sick Leave scheme for any instance of illness, up to a maximum of 5 days, that you are ordinarily scheduled to work in a calendar year. If your first instance of illness in the year is less than 5 days, your remaining statutory sick leave days will be applied to any subsequent instance(s) of illness, up to a maximum of 5 days in a calendar year.
Once your Statutory Sick Leave days have been exhausted you may be eligible for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from the Department of Social Protection.
If you qualify for both Statutory Sick Leave and Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit , and your first instance of illness in 2024 exceeds your 5-day Statutory Sick Leave entitlement, your Illness or Injury Benefit payment will start from day 6. You cannot be in receipt of Illness or Injury Benefit on days you receive Statutory Sick Leave.
If your instance of illness does not exceed your 5-day Statutory Sick Leave entitlement, there is no requirement to apply for Illness Benefit.
However, even if you are unfit for work for three days or less you can still register a claim for Injury Benefit as evidence that an occupational accident occurred. This safeguards your future rights to benefit under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme because an illness or disablement can develop at a later date.
If you have used up your 5-day Statutory Sick Leave entitlement in 2024 and if you have any subsequent instances of illness within the calendar year, payments of Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit will start on day 4 of your illness which is after the normal 3 waiting days.
Under the Sick Leave Act 2022 employers can run a sick leave scheme which is better for employees than Statutory Sick Leave.
A few factors are considered in deciding if an employer’s sick leave scheme is better than Statutory Sick Leave. They include duration and rate of payment.
These employer schemes are not paid in addition to Statutory Sick Leave.
Social Welfare legislation states that Statutory Sick Leave employees and employees covered by better schemes are treated the same in terms of the effect on their Illness Benefit and Injury Benefit entitlements.
Illness Benefit and Injury Benefit are not payable where the person is receiving either:
or
Since 1 January 2024 Illness Benefit and Injury Benefit are paid from day 6 of the claim if you have not used any of your entitlement prior to this instance of illness.
Days 1-3 are covered by Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit ‘waiting days’ and the first 3 Statutory Sick Leave (or equivalent recognition of the more favourable employer scheme).
Days 4 and 5 are covered by the remainder of the 5 days statutory sick leave (or equivalent recognition of the more favourable employer scheme).
If you have used some of your entitlement prior to this instance of illness, you may receive payment from an earlier date. See examples below for reference.
Any claims made after the exhaustion of the Statutory Sick Leave/the employer equivalent will only serve the 3 waiting days.
1. You do not qualify for Statutory Sick Leave because you have not been with your employer for longer than 13 weeks. You have the necessary contributions and meet all other conditions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit.
You serve 3 waiting days and get Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
2. You qualify for Statutory Sick Leave as you have been with your employer for longer than 13 weeks. You also qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have not used any of your Statutory Sick Leave in the calendar year. You are sick for greater than 5 days.
You get Statutory Sick Leave pay from your employer for the first 5 days and get Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 6.
3. You qualify for Statutory Sick Leave as you have been with your employer for longer than 13 weeks. You also qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have used all of your Statutory Sick Leave in the calendar year.
You serve 3 waiting days and get Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
4. You qualify for Statutory Sick Leave as you have been with your employer for longer than 13 weeks. You also qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit and have used 3 days of your Statutory Sick Leave in a previous instance of Illness.
You will get Statutory Sick pay for 2 days, have 1 waiting day (3 waiting days – 2 Sick leave days = 1 remaining waiting day) and you will get Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
5. You qualify for Statutory Sick Leave as you have been with your employer for longer than 13 weeks. You also qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have used 1 day of your Statutory Sick Leave for a previous instance of Illness. You are sick for longer than 4 days.
You will get Statutory Sick pay for 4 days and get Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 5.
1. You are an employee on an employer occupational sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than Statutory Sick Leave. Your employer pays you a top up on the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive. You have the necessary contributions and meet all other conditions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have not used any sick leave in the calendar year. You are sick for more than 5 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. The first 5 days of this illness will be treated as if you are receiving Statutory Sick Leave and you will get the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit payment from day 6.
2. You are an employee on an employer occupational sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than Statutory Sick Leave. Your employer pays you a top up on the Illness Benefit you receive. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit, you are certified unfit to work and meet all other eligibility criteria. You have used 2 sick leave days already in the calendar year. You are sick for more than 5 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. As you have used 2 sick leave days already in the calendar year, the next 3 days of your illness are treated as if you were receiving Statutory Sick Leave. As these 3 remaining days align with the 3 waiting days for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit , you will receive Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
3. You are an employee on an employer occupational sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than Statutory Sick Leave. Your employer pays you a top up on the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit, are certified unfit to work and meet all other eligibility criteria. You have used 5 sick leave days already in the calendar year. You are sick for more than 3 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. As you have used 5 sick leave days already in the calendar year, you have no remaining days to be treated as if you were receiving Statutory Sick Leave. You will have the 3 waiting days for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit and you will receive Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
4. You are on an employer sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than the Statutory Sick Leave scheme. Your employer pays you in full and you mandate the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive to your employer. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have not used any leave in the calendar year. You are sick for greater than 5 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. The first 5 days of this illness will be treated as if you are in receipt of Statutory Sick Leave and your employer will receive Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit payment from day 6.
5. You are on an employer sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than the Statutory Sick Leave scheme. Your employer pays you in full and you mandate the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive to your employer. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have used 2 sick leave days already in the calendar year. You are sick for greater than 5 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. As you have used 2 sick leave days already in the calendar year, the next 3 days of your illness are treated as if you were receiving Statutory Sick Leave. As these 3 remaining days align with the 3 waiting days for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit , your employer will receive Illness/Injury Benefit from day 4.
6. You are on an employer sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than the Statutory Sick Leave scheme. Your employer pays you in full and you mandate the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive to your employer. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have used 5 sick leave days already in the calendar year. You are sick for greater than 3 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. As you have used 5 sick leave days already in the calendar year, you have no remaining days to be treated as if you were paid Statutory Sick Leave. You will serve the 3 waiting days for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit and your employer will receive Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
7. You are on an employer sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than the Statutory Sick Leave scheme. Your employer pays you in full and you mandate the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive to your employer. Your employer does not pay you for the first 3 days of illness. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit. You have not used any leave in the calendar year. You are sick for greater than 5 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. If your employer sick pay scheme is classified as more beneficial than the statutory sick leave scheme overall, the first 5 days of this claim will be treated as if you were in receipt of Statutory Sick pay. Your employer will receive payment from Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 6. Sick leave days are only one of the considerations in deciding if an occupational sick pay scheme is more favourable than Statutory Sick Leave.
8. You are an employee on an employer occupational sick pay scheme that is considered more favourable than Statutory Sick Leave. Your employer pays you a top up on the Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit you receive. You have the necessary contributions to qualify for Illness/Injury Benefit, you are certified unfit to work and meet all other eligibility criteria. You have used 5 sick leave days already in the calendar year. You are sick for greater than 3 days.
You are treated the same as a person getting Statutory Sick Leave. As you have 5 sick leave days already in the calendar year, you have no remaining days to be treated as if you were receiving Statutory Sick leave. You will serve the 3 waiting days for Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit and you will receive Illness Benefit or Injury Benefit from day 4.
If you are an agency worker or have an irregular work pattern and your days of illness are not the same as the days you ordinarily work, the payment of Illness Benefit may be different to the above. Please contact the Illness Benefit Contact Centre at:
Email: illnessbenefit@welfare.ie
Phone number: 01 7043300/0818 928400
You can apply for Illness Benefit through www.MyWelfare.ie