Sick Leave

The Revised Sick Leave scheme for Public Servants – emanating from Statutory Instrument No. 124 of 2014 and (Amendment) SI 384 2015 – is effective from 1st September, 2014.

 

Sick leave Entitlements
Ordinary Illness Provisions
An employee who is absent from work because of personal illness or injury, may be granted paid sick leave of:

  • A maximum of 3 months (92 days) on full pay in a year
  • Followed by a maximum of 3 months (91 days) on half pay
  • Subject to a maximum of 6 months (183 days) paid sick leave in a rolling four year period.
 Critical Illness Provisions
An employee who becomes incapacitated as a result of a critical illness or serious physical injury may be granted extended paid sick leave, in exceptional circumstances of:

  • A maximum of 6 months (183 days) on full pay in a year
  • Followed by a maximum of 6 months (182 days) on half pay
  • Subject to a maximum of 12 months (365 days) paid sick leave in a rolling four year period.
Notification /  Documentation Requirements
An employee who is absent due to illness must notify, or make suitable arrangements to notify their School Principal/Deputy Principal or Head of Centre or, in his/her absence, the next senior grade in the College/Department/Centre in which they are based as early as possible on the first day of the absence and at latest, before the normal start time.  The employee should, where possible, indicate the likely duration of the absence and any urgent work which has to be dealt with in their absence to ensure that nothing essential is missed.  Text messages, voicemails outside of office hours and/or emails are not acceptable methods of notification except in exceptional circumstances and should be followed up by the normal protocol at the earliest possible opportunity.
Medical Certificates Where an employee is absent on continuous sick leave for more than 2 consecutive days (3 days for teachers) a medical certificate must be provided to the employer.

  • Medical certificates must be signed and stamped by a duly qualified medical practitioner registered with the lrish/UK Medical Council/Dental Council of Ireland and must cover a period of up to but no more than one week.  However, certification for periods of one month may be permitted for employees absent on long term critical illness.
  • Dates on a medical certificate must match the actual absence from work as recorded by the school/centre.  The name on your medical certificate should match the name on your payslip.  If there is a variation, eg. maiden name or Irish name – please advise same.  N.B. a medical certificate cannot be for a spouse or child.
  • An employee intending to resume duty prior to the date specified on the medical certificate must provide a medical certificate of fitness from their Doctor before the date of resumption.  Medical Certificates which are undated, backdated, illegible or outside the acceptable guidelines will not be accepted and the employee will be requested to re-submit a correctly completed one.
  • If your absence spans a weekend, the weekend is included. i.e. absent from Tuesday to Tuesday inclusive equals 8 days certified sick leave.
  • Pregnancy Related Sick Leave (PRSL) must be stated on a medical certificate if an absence from work is due to a pregnancy related illness.  Each ante-natal appointment that you take time off work to attend must be documented with evidence from the Hospital confirming it as an ante-natal appointment, otherwise it will be recorded and counted as sick leave (either certified or self-certified).
  • The full guidelines surrounding an acceptable medical certificate are outlined in relevant circulars. gov.ie – Department of Education (www.gov.ie)
Self-Certified Sick Leave

  • The maximum entitlement to self-certified sick leave, over a rolling period of 2 consecutive years, is 7 days (full-time equivalent).  Any absence in excess of this must be certified.
Illness Benefit Any staff member who is eligible for Illness Benefit (paying Class A PRSI) should make the necessary claim to the Department of Social Protection if they are absent longer than 3 consecutive days.  This application form is available from their GP  (Form IB1/ MED1 certificate).   

If an employee is not eligible to receive Illness Benefit, due to the fact that they are in receipt of another social welfare payment, it is their responsibility to provide the Human Resources Department with a letter from the Department of Social Protection stating same.
Role of the Occupational Heath Service (OHS)
The OHS (Occupational Health Service) provides a confidential independent advisory service to Tipperary ETB and its employees on all matters relating to their health and how it may affect their ability to cope with their work. The service aims to benefit both employees and the employer.  The current provider of this service is Medmark Occupational Health.  www.medmark.ie
The functions of the OHS are:
  • To provide an independent advisory service on any health-related matter which is affecting the employee’s ability to undertake work or the impact of their work on their health, taking into account the illness prompting the referral and medical opinion where available.
  • To provide impartial advice to Tipperary ETB regarding an employee’s fitness to undertake his/her full range of contracted duties and to make recommendations aimed at assisting employees to regain their good health and return to a suitable job as quickly and as safely as possible.
  • To advise on the employee’s fitness to undertake modified or alternative duties.
  • To liaise, subject to appropriate consent, with the employee’s medical advisor.
  • To advise managers and individuals on any areas of support for health-related problems that may be affecting employment.
Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR)
Where the relevant period of paid sick leave has been exhausted, an employee with a minimum of 5 years’ service in a pensionable position may be granted TRR at the end of the period of paid sick leave subject to certain conditions.

TRR is calculated on pensionable pay and paid pensionable service accrued in the employment at the time paid sick leave is exhausted together with the added years of service which would be awarded if ill health retirement was granted.  TRR is not a period of pensionable service.  The granting of TRR is subject to confirmation from OHS that there is a reasonable prospect of a return to work:

  • TRR will not exceed 548 days (18 months) in the case of ordinary illness.
  • In the case of critical illness s/he may have access to 12 months (365 days) TRR followed by a further period of TRR not exceeding 24 months (730 days). The further period of TRR is subject to regular reviews by an OHS.

Any further queries in relation to Sick Leave, please contact:

Human Resources Department

Email: leave@tipperaryetb.ie

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