Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017
393. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if public servants who are ill on a Thursday or Friday of any week and submit the necessary medical certification are recorded as being absent on the following Saturday and Sunday and possible bank holiday even though they do not normally work on such days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28232/17]
View answerThe Public Service Sick Leave Scheme was introduced in March 2014 in the majority of sectors in the Public Service and in September 2014 in the Education Sector.
The Public Service Management Sick Leave Regulations 2014[1] provide the basis for the calculation of access to paid sick leave and sick leave records, including counting a Saturday or Sunday.
The following sets out the process, based on the Regulations, for calculating absence periods arising from sick leave in the context of the working week being Monday to Friday. Similar principles are applied in relation to other working patterns.
- A Saturday and Sunday are only counted towards an individual’s sick leave record if the sick leave spans the weekend. An absence on a Friday followed by an absence on the Monday is considered to have spanned the weekend.
- Sick leave that spans a weekend will include the weekend, and in this example will be counted as four days of sick leave as it includes Saturday and Sunday.
In contrast:
- If a public servant was absent on a Friday and returned on a Monday the Saturday and Sunday would not be included as the absence did not span the weekend.
Treatment of Bank Holidays:
- In the event of a Bank Holiday weekend the Bank Holiday would be considered as part of the weekend. If the sick leave spanned the weekend i.e. the employee was out sick on the Tuesday after a bank holiday, it would be counted as five days sick leave.
- In contrast, if the individual was absent on a Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend and returned to work on the Tuesday it would be counted as one days sick leave.
It is also important to note that in accordance with Section 21 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, a public servant who is absent from work on certified sick leave immediately before and including a public holiday is entitled to benefit from that public holiday.
[1] the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations 2014 S.I. No. 124 of 2014 http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/si/124/made/en/pdf.
