With sickness levels peaking during the cold winter months, your business needs to prepare for illness-related absences.
Colds and coughs are to be expected this time of year. When they’re bad, an employee will end up out sick.
While many employers don’t know their obligations around paying employees during illness-related absences, sick pay doesn’t have to be a headache.
What does Irish law say?
In Ireland, there’s no legislation stating employees must be paid while they're absent on sick leave. Instead, it’s up to the employer to decide whether or not to provide payment.
It’s best to outline your approach from the outset in a written policy. Once the policy is in place, make sure to effectively communicate it to your employees.
You also have a legal obligation under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 to provide certain terms of employment in writing within an employee’s first two months of employment.
The written statement of terms required under the act should include ‘any terms or conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury and paid sick leave.’
How do I manage sick pay?
Your policy should confirm whether or not an employee will be paid while they're absent through illness. While you have no legal obligation to pay an employee who is absent through illness, many employers operate a discretionary sick pay policy. If you decide to offer discretionary sick pay to employees during illness-related absences, you will need to set out some rules.
First, confirm the rules around employees letting you know they are unfit for work. Identify who the employee should contact, how they should make contact and when. Also, the employee should provide an estimate of how long they will be absent for.
Discretionary sick pay policies generally require employees to provide you with a medical certificate. Your policy should clarify when this would be required. For instance, some employers demand a medical certificate after three consecutive days of absence. If possible, the cert should also state how long the absence is expected to last.
Keep detailed records
If a member of staff calls in sick, it’s important to record the absence and the nature of the illness. This will allow you to identify any patterns of employee absence, and take action if necessary.
Recording this information also helps you to improve health and safety in your workplace. If colds and flu are causing absences, hand sanitiser could be provided to prevent the spread of viruses.
What do I do when they return to work?
Simple, conduct a back to work interview. These matter because you can get to the root of the employee’s issue and it will help discourage employees from taking advantage of a sick leave policy. These interviews can also help you find ways to prevent further absences, and make improvements to the overall working environment.
To make recording sick leave easier, BrightHR’s smartphone app lets you track staff attendance, scan hospital letters, send updates to senior staff and more. Request a free demo today.
Need our help?
If you would like further complimentary advice on sick pay from an expert, our advisors are ready to take your call any time day or night. Call us on 0818 923 923 or request a callback here.
