Do you need a doctor's note to get one day off work because of illness? 

Since 2023, employers in Ireland are required to pay their staff when they cannot work if they fall sick. 

Although the legislation has been in place for over a year, many employees are still unsure of their rights. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, employment lawyer Julie Galbraith explained what should happen when someone calls in sick. 

“Under the law at the moment, an employee is entitled to five days paid leave from their employer,” she said. 

“That’s 70% of their normal pay, up to a cap of €110 per day. 

“The law does state, if you want to be a recipient of that payment, yes you need a medical cert from day one.” 

Persistent absences

If someone is ill on such a regular basis, Ms Galbraith said it can be grounds for dismissal on grounds of capability - if the employee is given “consistent warnings” about their behaviour.

Even then, Ms Galbraith warned the sacked staff member could have legal grounds to sue. 

“Any dismissal in Ireland is deemed to be unfair unless it’s for a number of fair grounds,” she said. 

“One of those can be capability or competence and that’s what we’re veering into here - is the person capable of doing the job if they’re consistently off sick to the point they’re interrupting the business or other employees and just not being able to be relied upon anymore.” 

A doctor prescribes medication.

If a person is disabled or has a long-term illness, the law affords them additional protection. 

“It is very difficult if that person says, ‘I have Crohn's disease’ or ‘I have asthma that is triggered by walking my children to school in the morning’ - because those things then become disabilities,” Ms Galbraith said. 

“You must ensure that someone is treated fairly under employment and equality acts.”

An employee who feels they have wrongly been sacked, can take a former employer to the Workplace Relations Commission under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2016. 

Main image: Woman blowing her nose on the bus on a cold winter day. Image: Igor Stevanovic / Alamy