SSP to come into effect in January 2023
According to Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, the statutory sick pay scheme will go into effect on 1 January 2023. As per our previous blog post the Sick Leave Act will establish an entitlement for all employees to sick leave paid by their employer in addition to illness benefits from the state.
Workers will be entitled to three days of paid sick leave in the first year of operation, increasing to five days in year two, seven days in year three, and ten days in year four. Employers will pay sick pay at a rate of 70% of an employee's wage, up to a daily maximum of €110. The law was passed in July but it will not take effect until the new year.
What actions should employers take now?
if your employment contracts already include paid sick leave provisions, you’ll need to review the agreements in line with the new legislation.
An employer who offers a sick leave scheme to employees with more favourable conditions than the terms of the statutory scheme is not subject to additional obligations under the Act.
You can watch our most recent webinar “2022 Legislation Changes” where our expert Jennifer discusses the legislation or read our previous blog post: Preparing for New Sick Pay Rules
Termination of Employment
An employer must have a reason to dismiss an employee. Under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015, the dismissal of an employee is deemed not to be unfair if it is for reasons of capability, conduct, capacity, redundancy, contravening the law, or some other substantial reason.
Giving Notice
At a minimum, employers must give employees the following statutory periods of notice.
Duration of employment Minimum notice
- 13 weeks to 2 years -1 week
- 2 to 5 years -2 weeks
- 5 to 10 years -4 weeks
- 10 to 15 years-6 weeks
- 15 years or more -8 weeks
If the employee’s contract of employment provides for notice in excess of the statutory period, the contractual notice must be given.
An employer may dismiss an employee without notice for gross misconduct e.g assault, stealing or serious breach of employment policies. Employment contracts or handbooks may contain further examples of gross misconduct.
Termination Procedures
The Workplace Relations Commission has introduced a Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures which employers should follow when dismissing an employee. Disciplinary action may include:
- An oral warning
- A written warning
- A final written warning
- Suspension without pay
- Transfer to another task, or section of the enterprise
- Demotion
- Some other appropriate disciplinary action short of dismissal
- Dismissal
You can read more about Unfair Dismissal in our previous blog post, Unfair Dismissal Claims & How to Avoid Them
Bright Contracts Software has a “Resignation and Termination” policy in the “Terms and Conditions” section of the handbook. Furthermore, in the Company Policies and Procedures section, there is a Grievance/Dispute Procedures which you can edit to your company needs.
