Statutory sick leave in Ireland : calculate what you are owed

• Entitlement in 2026: 5 days statutory sick leave per calendar year under the Sick Leave Act 2022 (WRC and gov.ie DSP). Unused days do not carry into the next year.
• Pay rate: 70% of usual daily earnings, subject to a hard daily maximum of €110 (Sick Leave Act 2022 (Prescribed Daily Rate of Payment) Regulations 2022).
• Service: 13 weeks continuous service with that employer before the entitlement begins.
• Medical certificate: from a registered medical practitioner, stating you are unfit for work, from day 1. No statutory waiting days before employer sick pay starts.
• Illness Benefit: a separate DSP payment. You cannot get it for the same days you receive statutory sick pay. See gov.ie and Citizens Information for the high-level interaction.
• Underpayment / refusal: complain to the WRC. Compensation may be awarded up to 4 weeks' remuneration.

Until 2023 Ireland had no general statutory right to paid sick leave from the employer. The Sick Leave Act 2022 (Number 24 of 2022) filled that gap. It commenced on 1 January 2023, then the day count rose to 5 days from 1 January 2024 (S.I. No. 10/2024). Official WRC and DSP materials for 2025 and 2026 treat 5 days as the operative entitlement. Plan around 5 days, 70%, and the €110 cap.

Statutory sick leave is a legal minimum. A contract or occupational scheme that is more favourable can apply instead (Act s.8 / s.9). Better company schemes are not stacked on top of the statutory days as a double payment. Where a company scheme is overall more favourable, DSP timing rules often treat early days similarly to statutory sick leave (gov.ie DSP guidance).

You must:

1. Be an employee (including staff on probation, in training, or under apprenticeship).
2. Have completed 13 weeks' continuous service with the employer before the sick leave day.
3. Be unable to work due to illness or injury on a day you would ordinarily work.
4. Provide a medical certificate in an official language of the State, signed by a registered medical practitioner, stating that you are unable to work (Act s.5(9)).

Part-time employees get the same 5 days once they meet the 13-week test (WRC FAQ). If you have more than one employer and 13 weeks' service with each, you can have a 5-day entitlement with each. Self-employed people are outside this employer scheme. Agency or irregular patterns can affect how Illness Benefit aligns with workdays (gov.ie DSP contact notes).

Probation and the first 13 weeks

Probation does not remove the right. The employer may suspend probation, training, or apprenticeship for the leave period if absence would be inconsistent with continuing that programme (WRC). That is not the same as "no sick pay while on probation".

If you fall ill before 13 weeks' service, you have no statutory sick pay from that employer for that absence. You may still qualify for Illness Benefit if PRSI and other DSP conditions are met (Citizens Information / gov.ie). If you are already on Illness Benefit when you hit 13 weeks mid-absence, you cannot switch that same ongoing spell onto statutory sick days (Citizens Information).

The leave covers days you would ordinarily work. Days can be consecutive or split across illnesses, up to 5 in the calendar year. Unused entitlement expires at year end. A spell of statutory sick leave cannot run across New Year's without a return to work: if you are on statutory sick pay at the end of one year, you cannot continue the same instance into the next year without having returned (WRC).

Illustrative patterns:

• Two days in March and three in October: full 5 used.
• Five days in February, then a week off in June: June sits outside statutory employer days; look to company policy and/or Illness Benefit.
• One certified day only: you still need the medical certificate from day 1, and you still get statutory pay for that day if you qualify.

Payment is at 70% of usual daily earnings, subject to a maximum of €110 per day. For many modest earners, 70% sits under the cap. For higher daily rates, the €110 ceiling applies.

Worked examples (illustration only):

• Normal daily pay €100. 70% = €70 (under the cap).
• Normal daily pay €140. 70% = €98 (under the cap).
• Normal daily pay €200. 70% = €140, but the cap bites: statutory pay is €110.

Use the prescribed method in S.I. 607/2022 and WRC notes on usual daily earnings. Keep contracts, recent payslips, and rotas. Company schemes that pay more, or for longer, remain lawful if they are more favourable overall.

Statutory sick pay is for certified leave only. Citizens Information and the Act are clear: you should be certified from day 1. Employers cannot invent statutory waiting days before the first day of employer sick pay under this Act.

Get the certificate early, keep a copy, and send it by a traceable method. It must identify you and state you are unfit for work due to illness or injury. Follow reasonable absence-notification rules, but notification is not a substitute for the medical cert, and policy cannot wipe out the statutory floor.

Statutory sick leave is paid by the employer. Illness Benefit (and Injury Benefit where relevant) is paid by the DSP if you meet contribution and medical conditions. You cannot receive Illness Benefit on days you are already paid statutory sick leave (or an equivalent more favourable employer scheme for those early days).

High-level timing from gov.ie DSP (Illness Benefit, Injury Benefit and Statutory Sick Leave in 2026):

• Unused statutory days and a first long absence exceeding 5 days: employer pay covers days 1-5; Illness Benefit typically starts from day 6 (where you qualify).
• All 5 statutory days already used earlier: later claims generally follow 3 waiting days, with Illness Benefit from day 4.
• Partial use of the 5 days changes the mix of remaining statutory days and waiting days. Use the official gov.ie examples rather than guessing.

Apply via MyWelfare.ie when needed. Citizens Information covers PRSI classes, claim windows, and DSP medical certificates. This article stays high level on DSP rates. Read the current gov.ie and Citizens Information pages for your claim.

If the contract or occupational scheme is more favourable on duration and/or rate, that scheme can displace the statutory obligation for those days (Act s.8 / s.9). An employer in severe financial difficulty may apply to the Labour Court for a temporary exemption (minimum three months, up to one year). Do not assume an exemption without written proof.

Records (Act s.13): employers must keep, for four years, each employee's employment period, dates/times of statutory sick leave, and the rate paid. Failure can lead to conviction and fines (WRC cites up to €2,500). You must not be penalised for seeking or taking statutory sick leave (Act Part 3; WRC).

Typical breaches: refusing certified days after 13 weeks; applying illegal waiting days; paying below 70% where under the cap; treating part-timers or probationers as excluded without a lawful basis; treating certified sick days during annual leave as annual leave (Citizens Information: those days are not annual leave).

Write to payroll/HR first. State the dates, attach certificates, ask for the 70% / €110 calculation, and request correction. Keep payslips, bank credits, rotas, certificates, and the written reply.

If the employer still fails to abide by the Act, refer a dispute to the WRC. An adjudication officer hears the complaint first. Remedies include compensation not exceeding 4 weeks' remuneration (WRC sick leave page). Appeals go to the Labour Court. Lodge generally within 6 months of the relevant date, with a possible further 6 months for reasonable cause (confirm on WRC / Citizens Information adjudication pages). No ACAS Early Conciliation step applies in Ireland.

1. Believing Ireland still has "no sick pay" beyond Illness Benefit. Employer statutory sick pay sits at 5 days in 2026.
2. Accepting unpaid waiting days before the first certified day under the Act.
3. Skipping the medical certificate for a single day.
4. Thinking part-time or probation status cancels the 5 days.
5. Confusing statutory sick pay with Illness Benefit and claiming both for the same day.
6. Assuming unused days roll into the next calendar year.
7. Filing in a UK Employment Tribunal. Use the WRC.

If you are lining up certified dates, payslips, and a shortfall table before you write to your employer or file with the WRC, Paye Mes Heures (payemesheures.fr) can help you organise absence days, daily rates, and a clear underpayment summary. It is a preparation aid, not Irish legal advice, and not an Ireland calculator as mature as the French product. Cross-check the Sick Leave Act 2022, Citizens Information, gov.ie DSP guidance, and the WRC before you file.

1. Sick Leave Act 2022 (No. 24 of 2022): https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2022/act/24/enacted/en/html
2. Sick Leave Act 2022 (Prescribed Daily Rate of Payment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 607/2022): https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2022/si/607/made/en/print
3. S.I. No. 10/2024 - Sick Leave Act 2022 (Increase of Statutory Sick Leave Days) Order 2024: https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2024/si/10/made/en/print
4. WRC - Sick Leave: https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/leave/sick-leave/
5. gov.ie DSP - Illness Benefit, Injury Benefit and Statutory Sick Leave in 2026: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/publications/illness-benefit-injury-benefit-and-statutory-sick-leave-in-2025/
6. Citizens Information - Sick leave and sick pay: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/leave-and-holidays/sick-leave-and-sick-pay/
7. WRC - Refer a dispute / make a complaint: https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/complaints_disputes/refer_a_dispute_make_a_complaint/