Business

First company in Ireland found in breach of new sick leave laws told to pay worker €450

Legislation requiring employers to pay 70% of worker wages while out sick came into force in early 2023

North Quay Associates Ltd was ordered to pay €450 to worker Michael Broderick on foot of a complaint under the Sick Leave Act 2022. Photograph: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Stephen Bourke
Wed Mar 13 2024 - 13:06

A staffing agency at Dublin Port has become the first company in Ireland found to be in breach of new legislation on sick leave which came into force last year.

In a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) decision published on Thursday morning, the company, North Quay Associates Ltd, was ordered to pay €450 to worker Michael Broderick on foot of a complaint under the Sick Leave Act 2022.

The new law, which requires employers to pay a worker 70 per cent of their wages while out sick – subject to a €110-a-day cap – came into force at the start of 2023. The right to sick leave is being phased in, with three days’ leave provided for in 2023 and five days in 2024. It will rise to 10 days’ leave in 2026.

In his complaint, Mr Broderick claimed he was not paid what he was entitled to under the legislation for three days’ sick leave in July 2023 and that payments which were made to him were “inaccurate”.

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He also maintained he had been “penalised” for raising his entitlement to the sick leave at all.

North Quay Associates, which provides agency staff to the maritime sector, was represented by human resources consultant Ken Stafford. It fully accepted at a hearing last month that it had failed to comply with its statutory obligations.

Mr Stafford submitted that by the time the case was called on it had “made good on the shortfall”.

In her decision, adjudicator Penelope McGrath noted the last payment relating to Mr Broderick’s sick leave was made in January this year.

She wrote that the employer “has yet to fully grapple with the implications of the sick leave legislation and that a clear policy needs to be prepared”.

“Unusual work patterns and allowances have made the implementation somewhat more nuanced here than in other workplaces. It is regrettable that the complainant had to resort to the services of the WRC before his employer could clarify its position,” she wrote.

[ Workers can claim five days of paid sick leave next year, Government confirms ]

“I accept the employer’s bona fides and understand that there is unlikely to be any repetition of the mistakes made,” wrote Ms McGrath.

“While there is no evidence of the complainant having been penalised, I am persuaded that the complainant was frustrated and upset with the time and effort it took to be paid his legal entitlement. In the circumstances, the complainant is entitled to compensation,” she wrote.

Ms McGrath awarded Mr Broderick €450 in compensation, calling it a “just and equitable” sum in the circumstances.

While Mr Broderick is the first worker to succeed in a statutory complaint under the sick leave legislation, the employment tribunal has rejected three other complaints by workers to date.

In those cases, the adjudicators decided that the company sick pay schemes operated by the employers were more favourable than the statutory arrangements.

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