Sick Pay - what is usual

Paddyo

Hi All

With regards to sick pay, is there any rules or guidelines which should be used. I have some one who was out sick last week. Should I pay them for the full week, for some of the days. Should they get money from the Department.

Basically - what is the usual.

May thanks

Paddyo

fletch

After 3 days....u should insist on a doctors note. Most places do

fletch

http://www.oasis.gov.ie/employment/holidays_and_leave/sick_leave.html?search=sick+pay

Paddyo

Thanks fletch for the quick reply.

The employee has a cert - but do I pay her and for how many days?
What is usual?

Paddyo

fletch

Sick Pay

seamus

How much you pay is your own decision. Ideally, it should be set out in her contract of employment, but the usual thing, for good employers is to give them X amount of uncertified sick days per year. These are nonconcurrent sick days, so if you give them twelve of these, for example, it allows them to be "sick" for one day each month, at full pay. Or any combination of nonconcurrent days.

Most employers allow employees to have two uncertified sick days concurrently, and on the third day or after, they must have a sick cert.

How you wish to deal with it, is up to you. If you decide not to pay her, she can claim disability benefit for the days she missed. If you decide to pay her, you can ask her to claim disability benefit and sign it over to you.

From my experience, it usually goes as: You can have 2 uncertified sick days. If you are sick for 3 or more days, you require a cert, and claim disability benefit, to be signed over to your employer. 3 weeks or longer, and the sickness becomes a long-term sickness, the employee is suspended from payroll, and lives solely on disability benefit.

As the page says, you have no obligation to employees for sick days.

Sleipnir

You would have written her contract so what does that say?
If you didn't provide her with a contract then you're breaking the law
so in that case I would just pay up and then give her a contract and point out the terms for sick-pay.

Paddyo

Thank you for all of the advice.

The contract situation is a bit unclear at the moment. This is in a school and it is a member of the ancilliary staff. The new board of management are presently drawing up contracts of employment as the previous contracts did not exist or did not cover all the elements necessary.

I am going to take the advice of paying the person and getting the disability cheque signed over to the employer.

Once again, thanks for all of the help

Paddyo

ArthurDent

Paddyo

I'm involved in a BoM of a school too and our position (and stated in the contracts of ancilliary staff) is that only certified sick leave is paid. If a person is absent for 3 consecutive days they are entitled to social welfare - the fill out a form, their doctor signs it and they claim the money from social welfare - the BoM does not pay it.

hope this helps