As you are aware, the new Sick Leave Scheme was introduced following the enactment of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Act 2013 [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2013/act/47/enacted/en/html] by the Oireachtas to reduce the very high and unsustainable cost of sick leave in the public service.
Under the scheme, sick leave is paid at full pay for three months (i.e. 92 days) and at half pay for three months (i.e. 91 days) annually, subject to an overall limit of 6 months’ (i.e. 183 days) paid sick leave (at either full or half pay) in any four year period. Effectively the new Scheme halved the maximum entitlement to paid sick leave previously available, other than in the case of serious illness or injury.
In a situation where sick leave was taken prior to the introduction of the new Scheme it is taken into account in the following way:
Where an individual is out on sick leave their record over the previous four years is examined to determine if they have access to paid sick leave. This process is known as the ‘look back’ and is set out in the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 124 of 2014) [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/si/124/made/en/print]. Where they do have access to paid sick leave, their record over the last twelve months is examined to determine whether they can receive sick pay at the full or half rate of pay. Or where an individual has exhausted access to full or half pay they may have access to a further form payment called Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR).
This look back over an individual’s sick leave record is not a new concept. It was in place in relation to the calculation of sick leave pay in the old sick leave scheme and has continued under the current scheme. Any sick leave that occurred before the introduction of the new Scheme is taken into account in calculating access to paid sick leave.
The rationale for this was to ensure that the situation did not arise where every public servant’s sick leave record would be wiped clean on day one of the new Scheme. This would mean that individuals would have access to even greater levels of paid sick leave than they had before the new scheme was introduced. Public servants with a high rate of absenteeism would go back to having access to the full allowance of paid sick leave. This issue was considered and supported by the Labour Court in its Recommendation on sick pay in the public service (LCR20335 July 2012) on the basis that this approach would be substantially cost-increasing.
