Sick Pay Ireland: Your Statutory Sick Leave Rights in 2026

JobChamp Guide · Updated July 17, 2026

If you are looking into sick pay Ireland rules for 2026, here is the short version: the Sick Leave Act 2022 gives you 5 paid statutory sick days a year, paid at 70% of your normal daily earnings up to a cap of 110 euro a day. You need 13 weeks of service and a medical certificate. After that, Illness Benefit from the state may cover longer absences, and your employer cannot simply dismiss you for being out sick.

How many statutory sick days do you get

The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced a phased right to paid sick leave, starting with 3 days in 2023 and rising to 5 days from 1 January 2024. The original plan was to keep increasing this to 7 days and then 10 days in later years. That further increase has been paused by the government, and ministers have confirmed there is no plan to raise it beyond 5 days for now. So as of 2026, the statutory entitlement remains 5 paid sick days per calendar year, and the sick pay year runs from 1 January to 31 December with no carryover into the next year.

This entitlement applies to full-time and part-time employees alike. If you work for more than one employer, you can build up a separate 5-day entitlement with each one, provided you meet the qualifying conditions with each.

How much is statutory sick pay

For each of your statutory sick days, your employer pays you 70% of your normal daily earnings, subject to a maximum of 110 euro per day. That cap means higher earners are paid proportionally less than 70% once their normal daily pay pushes past the threshold, while lower earners generally receive the full 70%. The payment only applies to certified sick leave, meaning days actually covered by a medical certificate.

Who qualifies for statutory sick pay

Two conditions decide whether you can claim your statutory sick days.

• 13 weeks of continuous service. You need to have worked for your employer for at least 13 weeks before you can access Statutory Sick Pay. A short gap in service of up to 26 weeks generally does not reset this clock, but a longer break can.
• A medical certificate. A registered medical practitioner must certify that you are unfit for work due to illness or injury. You should get certified from day one of your absence rather than waiting, since uncertified days do not count toward your paid entitlement.

Statutory Sick Pay compared with Illness Benefit

Once your 5 statutory days are used up in a calendar year, or if you have not yet built up the 13 weeks of service, the next layer of support is Illness Benefit, a weekly payment from the Department of Social Protection rather than your employer. It works on a different logic entirely: it depends on your PRSI record, not your length of service with a particular employer.

To qualify for Illness Benefit you generally need at least 104 weeks of PRSI contributions at Class A, E, H or P since you first started working, plus a minimum number of contributions paid or credited in the relevant tax year (which for claims made in 2026 is the 2024 tax year). The maximum personal rate increased from 2026, and how much you actually receive depends on your average weekly earnings in that reference year and your PRSI class; those on lower earnings receive a reduced rate rather than the maximum. There may also be extra amounts if you have a qualified adult or children depending on you.

If your employer does not pay, or treats you badly for being sick

Your employer must keep records of your employment periods, the dates and times of your sick leave, and the payments made, for at least 4 years. If your employer refuses to pay Statutory Sick Pay you are entitled to, or if you are penalised or threatened for taking sick leave you are entitled to, you can bring a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). Where a complaint succeeds, an adjudication officer can award compensation of up to 4 weeks' remuneration, and can direct the employer to pay what is owed.

Sick leave and dismissal protection

Being on certified sick leave does not make you untouchable, but it also does not give your employer a free pass to let you go. A dismissal connected to illness can only be fair in limited circumstances, and your employer is expected to follow a proper process first: gathering the full medical picture, usually through an independent occupational health assessment, giving you fair notice that dismissal on grounds of incapacity is being considered, and giving you a real chance to respond before any final decision.

If your illness amounts to a disability, the Employment Equality Acts also require your employer to consider reasonable accommodations, such as adjusted duties or a phased return, before dismissal is even on the table. Skipping these steps is exactly the kind of thing that turns a dismissal into a successful unfair dismissal claim, or a disability discrimination claim, at the WRC. Keep in mind that most unfair dismissal claims require at least 12 months of continuous service, though several exceptions exist, so check where you stand before assuming you are covered either way.

Common mistakes people make with sick pay

A frequent mistake is assuming Statutory Sick Pay and Illness Benefit stack on top of each other automatically. They do not: SSP is paid by your employer for your first statutory days, and Illness Benefit is a separate state payment you generally apply for once those days, or your eligibility for them, run out. Another common error is not getting certified from day one, which can mean losing paid days you were otherwise entitled to.

People also sometimes assume any absence connected to illness is automatically protected from dismissal. It is not automatic, it depends on your employer following fair procedures and, where relevant, considering reasonable accommodations. If you are not sure whether your employer's own sick pay scheme is actually more favourable than the statutory minimum, ask HR for the written terms and compare them against the 70%, 110 euro cap, and 5-day figures above.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information for employees in Ireland and does not replace legal advice for your specific situation. For concrete disputes, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Citizens Information, your trade union, or an employment solicitor can help.