Mark my words when I say that these 2 , they’ll have us all paying from our pockets when we get sick. If we lucky enough to have a job!

Personally, I think that no sick day should be paid. However, to keep the leftie unions happy we could just put a simple cap on how many paid sick days an employee can take. I think that 3 days per annum is more than reasonable. Anything over that should be at the total discretion of the employer.

This is mad. Many people do not get or claim sick pay. They take few days off. No big deal.
This idea if implemented will cause trouble for people and employers. Conflict between employees and managers are bound to ensue if the employers have to take a serious interest as to whether a sick absence is genuine. Workers will look for sick pay from companies stretched to meet its bills. People in poor health will be more at risk of loosing their job.

Who is going to pay the sick leave for the one group of workers who have way more sick days than any other ? !!!!!!!!! Public service!!!!!!!!!!! ——-

Well done bruton is it a wonder the country is shagged,yet you guys claim sick days 5 fold worse than the taxpayer,your just out to line your own pockets to cover your sick days..

This has to be the icing on the “fantasy cake” they made called Job Creation! What employer will consider creating jobs while we have ministers thinking up ridiculous ideas like this. Of course there’ll probably be a tax free scheme thought up for multinationals! And what are we paying PRSI for?

Really Joan, it’s time to take a bow. Don’t expect any bouquets to be thrown your way.

small firms cannot afford to pay for sick days most are just about breaking even at the moment.

It could be worse. In France employers including very small businesses have to pay the first 6 months sick pay. So few small businesses employ anyone other than relatives. PS Employers PRSI is 50% v about 11% in Uk+Irl

They should compensate the doctors with a bonus who find nothing wrong with a person and sends them back to work!

One hand really doesn’t know what the other is up to in this country. Day 1: Lowering business costs, getting people back to work. Day 2: Sick pay is now your problem.

So employers, who pay 10.75% PRSI on wages to cover social insurance, will bear the cost of sick pay, and either increased sick pay or policing sick pay. This is on top of replacing workers out sick, when you can’t just stop production / close your shop etc.

It’s also disingenuous of Burton to say employers do this elsewhere. In the UK employers pay the sick pay to save the government some paperwork, and then claim the money back off the EPRSI they pay.

I’d love a consistent policy position from this government…

(By the way, my company pays sick pay already. It’s a benefit we can afford and works in our business. But it’s not a one size fits all approach that can fit many small businesses.)

And we get called negative when we complain about this kind if thing and when we also complain about our Taoiseach flying off to the states to secure a few jobs!!! This shower if shams are making a bigger mess of things than their predecessors! How can we possibly expect good job growth when the government are driving jobs out of the country faster than bringing them in!?

she has no right to hold the title SOCIAL PROTECTION..SHE she has taxed and undermined every minority group in this country, including employers. they should not pay sick leave , this is why you pay your prsi.. and also doctors need to use discretion here…

As an employer this foolish sick pay scheme together with the changes in redundancy will stop me employing new staff. Government needs to start listening to employers who are the ones that will create jobs to get us out of this recession. They also need to read their own jobs initiative!!!

Does ‘Burton the Butcher’ still get paid if she is sick?

As an employer and business man of 18 years I will SHUT my Dublin office if this is even considered !!!!!!!! Crazy !!!!!!!!!!!! I PAY ENOUGH !!!!!!!!

It will make sense if it manages to cut down on exaggerated illnesses, if the boss is paying they’ll need to be convinced the employee is completely unable to work.

Make the EMPLOYEE pay for his own sick days… and watch the number of sick days plummet

i think if its uncertified then the employees shouldnt get paid. would definitely get rid of some of the monday morning blues!!! but if certified then the gov has to cough up through social welfare. no way can we expect employers to foot this kind of bill……ludicrous.

………………..more encouragement for the black market. And as a side note, this will create serious employer/employee tensions if implemented.

Illness and disability payments have increased by forty per cent in the past ten years says the Minister.
Wow………….there must be something out there that’s being missed by mainstream medicine because any payments by Social Welfare is ONLY on the basis of a Medical Certificate signed by the individual’s respective doctor.
There are no trends whatever in the medical literature to suggest that any disease state of any description whatever has increased by anything remotely close to this number.Remember these data and payments do not include single days of illness that tend to coincide with days such as Mondays!
Clearly the Minister is saying that Companies or Managers are not managing and the best way to reduce this burden on the State is to bring the cost closer to where the issue should be corrected.
Perhaps another very simple approach is the idea that all doctors in family practice would be compelled to refer their patient to another local doctor where a second certificate of illness is required in the same calendar month while excluding certain chronic illnesses.
The nett effect of these two measure would be a dramatic and sustained improvement in the health of Irish workers!

If the patient pays the doctor the patient gets the benefit and if the company pays the opposite will happen. It would cause a lot of friction. Maybe employer gov go half way in paying.

the employee should go without pay for uncertified sick leave. woudl certainly reduce the public service “sick leqve” issue (if there is one over the public sector, not convinced re teachers though in helathcare maybe). if certified sick leave, well then i think fairness dictates that the sick pay is split 50:50 between the employer and the Dept of social welfare. it is more just and fair than joan burton’s Dept having to cut that 876million (the cost of the sick pay to her Dept) from elsewhere in her budget…..which is there to protect the disabled, the elderly, the unemployed and genuine welfare recipients. Else that full bill must be cut again from welfare over the next few years……….without cutting rates of basic welfare as they say stands….or it will have to be shared with emplyers, some of whiuch are large profitable multi-nationals, don’t forget. there but fo the grace of God go any of US, say if you have an accident that disabled you, have a disabled child or lost ur job due to the economic crisis. which sounds fairer to you? i think a compromise as suggested? and a reduction in absenteeism :)