The Cabinet has approved a bill allowing for statutory sick pay for workers.
It will mean all workers will be entitled to a maximum of 10 sick days a year by 2026.
The Government estimates around half of workers are currently entitled to sick pay, something Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says is an inequality highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That number falls even further when you take the private sector alone.
Mr Varadkar has brought forward a bill making sick pay mandatory for all employees who have been with a company for at least 13 weeks.
Once the bill is passed the entitlement will be three days this year, rising to five days in 2024, seven in 2025 and 10 in 2026.
It will be paid at a rate of 70% of an employees wage to a max of €110 a day.
The daily earnings threshold of €110 is based on 2019 mean weekly earnings of €786.33, and equates to an annual salary of €40,889.
However this can be revised over time by ministerial order, in line with inflation and changing incomes.
Workers will also need to be certified by a GP as unfit to work.
This is something employment law expert Richard Grogan has said could be problematic.
Speaking last November, he told Newstalk: "Effectively, they say it’s going to be €110 per day or 70% of your normal day rate - payable for three days in 2022.
"The difficulty is that only covers somebody who is on up to [€40,889] a year - over that, you’re not going to get the full 70%.
"The other difficulty is you’re going to have to produce a medical certificate… if you’re out for a day, it’s going to cost you €55 for the doctor’s certificate.
"This hasn’t really been thought out terribly well."
Additional reporting: Jack Quann
