Statutory Sick Pay - Overview

Statutory Sick Pay is a legal requirement for all employers in Ireland. The scheme has been phased in since 2023 and continues to expand annually.

1. SSP Entitlement for 2026

From 1 January 2026, employees are entitled to:

• 10 days’ paid sick leave per calendar year
• This entitlement applies:
• Per employee (not per employment contract)
• Per calendar year (resets each January)
• Regardless of full-time or part-time status (pro-rated by normal working hours)

2. SSP Rate of Payment

Employers must pay:

• 70% of the employee’s normal daily earnings, capped at €110 per day
• “Normal daily earnings” are based on the employee’s regular pay rate prior to illness.
• Employers may choose to pay more, but cannot pay less than the statutory minimum.
• The €110 cap may be amended by Ministerial Order to reflect inflation or income trends.

3. Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for SSP, an employee must:

• Have at least 13 weeks’ continuous service with the employer.
• Provide a valid medical certificate from a registered GP for each day of statutory sick leave claimed.

No waiting days apply — payment is due from the first certified sick day.

4. Medical Certification Rules

• A medical cert is required for each day of SSP.
• The cert must confirm that the employee is unfit for work.
• Employers are not required to accept retrospective certificates unless they choose to.

5. Interaction With Employer Sick Pay Schemes

If an employer already offers a sick pay scheme that is more generous than SSP, that scheme may replace the statutory scheme only if:

• It provides equal or better benefits than SSP, and
• It is expressly included in the employee’s contract or staff handbook.

If the employer scheme is less favourable, SSP must be applied.

6. PRSI, Tax, USC Treatment

SSP is treated as normal pay for payroll purposes:

• Taxable: Yes
• PRSI: Yes
• USC: Yes

SSP is processed same as standard income.

7. Recording & Payroll Processing

Employers must maintain clear records for each employee including:

• Dates of sick leave taken
• SSP amounts paid
• Medical certificates received
• Running total of SSP days used in the calendar year

Records must be kept for 4 years.

8. Carryover / Accrual

• Unused SSP days do not carry over into the next year.
• Entitlement resets each 1 January.

9. Part-Time, Variable Hours & Casual Employees

SSP is calculated based on the employee's normal daily earnings, which may require an averaging method where hours vary.
Examples:

• Weekly earnings ÷ number of days normally worked
• For irregular hours: average pay over a reference period (e.g., 13 weeks)

10. Protection From Penalisation
Employees cannot be:

• Disciplined
• Dismissed
• Subjected to negative treatment

…for exercising their right to statutory sick leave.

11. Future Increases

The Sick Leave Act includes a phased introduction:

Year SSP Entitlement

The Minister for Enterprise may review entitlement levels again post-2026.