Statutory Sick Pay Update: Entitlement to Remain Unchanged at 5 Days

The Government has confirmed that the Employee entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay will remain at five days. Statutory Sick Pay had been scheduled to increase to seven days paid leave from January 2025.

This confirmation of a pause in the scheduled incremental increases to Statutory Sick Pay follows a Government commitment to review Economic and Social Research Institute research before deciding on any further increases. Statutory Sick Pay was scheduled to increase to 7 days’ paid sick leave in 2025 and 10 days in 2026 but any further increases remain subject to review.

Separate research by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on sick leave found that Organisations in the retail, accommodation and food services sectors are likely to be more affected should the statutory sick leave entitlement increase from 5 days to 7 days.

Read the full press release on the Irish government website here