The purpose of these FAQs is to seek to answer the more common Sick Leave-related
queries that arise on a regular basis. These FAQs are not definitive and cannot account
for the numerous variations that can derive from the broad-ranging nature of Sick Leave.
Nonetheless, they do represent many of the more commonly asked queries.
Index:
1. Accident
2. Annual Leave
3. Career Break
4. Medical/Dental Appointments
5. Reason for Sick Absence
6. Overpayment
7. Pension Rate of Pay
8. Pregnancy (incl. Pregnancy-related)
9. Public Holidays
10. Shift Allowance
11. Temporary Clerical Officer
12. Uncertified Sick Leave
13. Unpaid Leave
14. Worksharers
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1. Accident
How should Sick Leave resulting from an accident which happened during the course of carrying out
official duties be treated?
Illness due to an occupational injury is treated separately from 'ordinary' illness, i.e. illness due to an
occupational injury and 'ordinary' illness are not aggregated so as to adversely affect sick pay entitlement.
However, the standard paid sick leave limit (of six months and twelve months) continues to apply in the
case of illness due to occupational injury, as it does in the case of 'ordinary' illness.
This is outlined in two short circulars - Circular 1/82 and 6/97.
It is important to ascertain that the injury/disease was in fact an occupational injury/disease, i.e. that the
injury/disease can be clearly and unequivocally shown to be attributable to a specific incident that occurred
during official duties, or to a specific set of circumstances that obtained during official duties.
2. Annual Leave
An employee had a fall at work and was absent for the period 04/08/2008 to 03/03/2010 (577 days).
This employee was paid the normal entitlements i.e. full pay for 6 months from 04/08/08 and half pay
for a further 6 months. Her sick leave prior to the accident was not included for sick pay calculations
as per Circular 6/97. The employee was in receipt of Pension Rate of Pay until her resumption date.
She has now incurred a further 5 days sick leave as a result of ordinary illness (her total in the last 4
year period is 626 days) and my query is should she be removed from the payroll for this absence and
any subsequent absences or are there special arrangements for subsequent periods following an
occupational injury?
This employee has informed us that she has on-going problems as a result of this accident and her
recent absence of 5 days was related to the accident.
The response to the specifics of your query would be that the staff member should be placed on Off-Pay
when on Sick Leave (there are no special arrangements for sick leave in these circumstances). That said,
the option is there for management to grant Pension Rate of Pay, but this would be based on a likelihood of
the staff member returning to work after such sick leave (it should be noted that Pension Rate of Pay is an
extension of Sick Leave and it is really only correct to place a staff member of PRP in advance of their
return to work).
An employee is on long-term sick leave since April 2010. In line with para. 29 (‘Reckoning of Sick
Leave’) of Circular 27/03 Annual Leave, their annual leave has continued to accrue. The employee is
still on sick leave. Can the employee be paid their accrued annual leave which they are still on sick
leave?
The employee in question cannot be paid their accrued annual leave while they are still on sick leave.
3. Career Break
A member of staff is on sick leave at present and has applied for a Career Break. Do they have to
return to work before starting the Career Break?
You may give them a career break (assuming they are eligible in other ways) without requiring their return
to work first. However, before allowing the career break, you should ask them to provide a certificate of
fitness, i.e. a note from a doctor indicating that they are in a good state of health.
What is the situation regarding an officer's one year and four year sick leave totals following a break
in service? For example, where a staff member has exceeded both one and four year totals and takes
a career break for two years. On return from the career break does his/her four year total remain at
the level it was prior to taking the career break or is the time recognised in terms of the four year
rolling total?
If the time is not recognised and the officer subsequently is absent on sick leave there would be
implications for pay?
A career break, constituting as it does unpaid special leave, does not amount to service as such i.e. it is
unpaid, and does not count towards time served. A Career Break has no impact on the four year sick leave
total. The count back of a sick leave record will therefore predate the career break to include 4 years’
service.
4. Medical/Dental Appointments
If an officer has to take a day's leave of duty in order to attend a dentist's appointment - is he/she
entitled to claim back some of the time for that day or is the whole day entered has sick leave on the
employee's personnel record?
Medical/dental appointments should be arranged outside of core times if at all possible.
If a medical/dental appointment has to be arranged during core time but the officer returns to work during
core time, (i.e. before the end of Coretime), then any core time lost due to the appointment may be returned
to the officer. (Non core time should not be returned).
If a medical/dental appointment takes the whole morning or the whole afternoon so that there is no core
time clocking, then the morning or the afternoon (as the case may be) should be treated and recorded as a
half-day of certified sick leave. (If an officer considers it necessary to see the doctor, then it is legitimate to
consider him/her as ill). The above rules are intended to be a balance that take into account, on the one
hand, the needs of the staff and on the other hand, the requirements of the public service. They are
considered necessary in the context of the management and ordering of official time off by staff.
Sick leave due to medical appointments (provided the illness is non-recurring), would be discountable in
the context of suitability for promotion
5. Nature of Illness/Reason for Sick Absence
If an officer avails of uncertified sick leave, can they simply state "feeling unwell" as a cause for the
absence or does a specific reason have to be given?
Of itself, stating "feeling unwell" is inadequate, as it is too unspecific. However, if the staff member were
to state "feeling unwell" due to a headache/cold etc. then this would suffice.
Has there been any change to the rule that doesn’t require a staff member to have the nature of
illness on a medical cert?
There has been no change to the rule - doctors are not obliged to state the nature of an illness on a medical
cert.
6. Overpayment
An overpayment of nearly €3500 arose due to the late arrival of sick certs to Personnel (it appears
through no fault of the employee)
The employee in question was written to a couple of times requesting him to contact Personnel to
make arrangements to recoup this amount. To date he has not replied.
As the staff member is obliged to pay back this amount, can Personnel go ahead and arrange to
recoup the amount owed without his consent? Is there an Act or guidelines that can be cited?
The Payment of wages Act 1991 refers in this case. An overpayment of salary or of travel and subsistence
may be deducted from future salary payments in accordance with the Payment of Wages Act 1991. The
Department should advise the officer in writing of the amount and details of any such overpayment and
give them at least one week’s notice of the deduction to take place and deduct the overpayment within six
months of such notice in accordance with the Act.
7. Pension Rate of Pay
Weekly paid officer is on sick leave at pension rate of pay from Friday to Friday. They return to
work on Monday. Should full pay resume on the Saturday or the Monday?
As the officer is weekly paid, he/she is not paid for weekends. Therefore, full pay resumes on the Monday.
The first weekend is counted as sick leave as the sick leave spans this weekend. The second weekend is not
counted as sick leave as the sick leave does not span this weekend. The officer is, therefore, recorded as
having 8 days, not 10 days sick leave at pension rate.
Can an Officer who was on Pension Rate of Pay from the 18/12/1990 to 19/04/1991 due to an
Occupational Injury have that period of service reckoned for superannuation purposes.
During this period the Officer received a disablement pension under the Occupational Injuries
Scheme.
I refer to Section 8.7 (b) under Qualifying and Reckonable Service in the Superannuation Handbook
and Guidance Notes for Established Civil Service Scheme and would respectfully request if this
service can be reckoned under this exception.
The general rule in the civil service is that sick leave with pay at pension rate, or sick leave without pay,
does not count for pension purposes (Circular 7/78, para. 23). The civil service sick leave regulations do
not make an exception to this rule in the case of occupational injuries. I've attached Circular 1/82 and
Confidential Circular 6/97 (both very short) which are relevant to sick leave due to an occupational
illness/injury. I've forwarded your query to the Pension Section and they will reply to you separately.
A weekly paid officer is on sick leave at pension rate of pay from Friday to Friday – they return to
work on Monday. Should full pay resume on the Saturday or the Monday?
As the officer is weekly paid, they are not paid for weekends. Therefore, full pay resumes on the Monday.
The first weekend is counted as sick leave as the sick leave spans this weekend. The second weekend is not
counted as sick leave as the sick leave does not span this weekend. The officer is, therefore, recorded as
having 8 days, not 10 days sick leave at pension rate.
8. Pregnancy-related Sick Leave
A Personnel Officer can discount certified sick leave that is pregnancy related for promotion and
transfer purposes etc. – therefore, can a Personnel Officer discount uncertified sick leave that is
pregnancy related?
Note the following from paragraph 29 of Circular 9/2010:
“Illnesses occurring during pregnancy that are pregnancy-related ordinarily should not be counted.
However, it should be recognised that not all illnesses occurring during pregnancy are pregnancy-related;”
This paragraph allows Management the leeway to make a judgment in these sort of circumstances on a
case-by-case basis.
9. Sick Leave and Public Holidays
Are there circumstances where the entitlement to public holidays can last for more than the first 26
weeks of sick leave?
If an officer is out on sick leave due to an occupational injury or disease, he/she gets the benefit of public
holidays and privilege days for the first 52 weeks of such sick leave. If an officer is out on sick leave due
to ordinary illness (i.e. illness not due to occupational injury), he/she gets the benefit of the public holidays
and privilege days for the first 26 weeks only of the sick leave. In this case, the entitlement fades out after
the first 26 weeks of the illness (Circular 9/2004: Sick Leave and the Organisation of Working Time Act
1997, para. 2 (i) and (ii) – including footnotes 1 and 2).
Does an officer on special leave without pay for 13 weeks or less get the benefit of the public holidays
that fall during the special leave?
The OWTA says that employees absent from work for 13 weeks or less for reasons other than illness, get
the benefit of the public holidays provided the absence is “authorised by the employer”. Circular 9/2004
says, for instance, that staff on Term Time would maintain their entitlement to public holidays and
privilege days (Circular 9/2004, para. 2 (iii) – including footnote 3).
10. Shift Allowance
Should a shift allowance be paid when an officer is on reduced paid sick leave (50% of pay), or on
reduced pay due to worksharing or unpaid leave (e.g. Parental Leave)?
The position regarding payment of a shift allowance (or other allowance in the nature of pay) during a
period of paid sick leave is as follows: When an officer with an allowance in the nature of pay in respect of
higher duties or other duties (such as a shift allowance) goes on sick leave, he/she has no entitlement to be
paid the allowance while on sick leave. However, Personnel Officers may pay the allowance for a short
period of sick leave. In all cases, the payment of the allowance must cease immediately when another
officer is paid the allowance to cover for the absent officer, e.g. the rule is that the allowance for the duties
cannot be paid to two officers at once. In the context of the civil service paid sick leave scheme, it should
be borne in mind that there is no statutory entitlement to paid sick leave. In the civil service, the decision
whether sick leave is to be granted and whether it is to be with or without pay is a matter for the head of the
Department/Office (Circular 25/78: Sick Leave, para. 8).
11. Temporary Clerical Officer
Seeking to clarify Circular 33/1995 (Sick leave arrangements for unestablished and temporary staff)
with regard to TCOs, particularly those employed on contracts for less than 12 months - does the
first paragraph apply to these? And therefore does unpaid sick leave have to be given pro rata? Or,
should the second paragraph also include a reference to temporary staff?
New staff coming into the civil service (including contract staff) accrue a paid sick leave entitlement
incrementally during the first year of service.
For students coming in for the summer as TCOs (replacing staff on Term Time, for instance), some
Departments may give them no paid sick leave (as there may be objective grounds for treating them less
favourably than permanent staff).
How many weeks does a TCO have to be in service in order to qualify for paid sick leave i.e. is it (1) 3
calendar months, (2) 12 weeks, or (3) 13 weeks?
Extract from Appendix B of Circular 25/1978:
The sick pay conditions for temporary or unestablished whole-time civil servants are as follows:
Full pay (less appropriate deduction in respect of social welfare benefits) may be allowed during sick
absence up to the following limits in any period of twelve months' service:-
After 3 months' continuous service - up to 6 weeks
After 6 months' continuous service - up to 9 weeks
After 12 months' continuous service - up to 13 weeks
No sick pay will be allowed during the first three months' service but previous service, so far as it has been
continuous, may be allowed to reckon towards the qualifying period for the grant of paid sick leave.
Qualifying service is exclusive of any period of leave without pay.
A Temporary Clerical Officer was on unpaid sick leave from 27/10/06 until the end of her contract
on 31/12/06, a period under 13 weeks. Is this person entitled to all the bank holidays that fell in the
intervening period? The person in question has already received sick pay as applicable to her
contract.
You may give the TCO the benefit of the public holidays (pay or day off in lieu) that fell while he/she was
on paid certified sick leave. You would not, however, give him/her the benefit of the public holidays that
fell while he/she was on unpaid sick leave.
12. Uncertified Sick Leave
If an officer has exceeded 365 days sick leave in a four year period are they allowed to take
uncertified sick leave (which would then be either at pension rate or unpaid depending on the
circumstances)?
Uncertified sick leave is a form of paid sick leave (intended to cover one or two day sick absences).
Therefore, when the civil service paid sick leave entitlement is exhausted (i.e. 365 paid days, between full
and half pay, in any four year period), no form of paid sick leave, including uncertified sick leave, is
allowable. When the paid sick leave entitlement is exhausted, the only form of pay allowable is pension
rate.
In view of this, uncertified sick leave is not allowable after the period of paid sick leave is exhausted.
There would not be an objection to uncertified sick leave (within the 7 day per year limit) for an officer on
pension rate or on sick leave without pay.
13. Unpaid Leave
If a person is certified sick during non-statutory unpaid leave (e.g. term time, unpaid study leave),
should he/she be put on sick pay?
No. The circumstances of each case would, however, be examined.
14. Worksharers
What rate of pay is to be given to a worksharer in lieu of a public holiday on which he/she was
certified sick?
When a worksharer has to be paid in lieu of a public holiday on which he/she was certified sick, he/she
should be given 1/5 of his/her weekly worksharing pay.
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Sick leave in the Civil Service
What are the rules regarding sick leave?
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has general policy responsibility for determining the nonpay terms and conditions of civil servants. The arrangements in regard to sick leave and other forms of
absence from work are a significant part of the terms and conditions of employment of all civil servants.
There is no statutory right to paid sick leave in Ireland. Against the background of the statutory obligations
which apply to all employers, the civil service has developed a complex set of rules and procedures in
relation to sick leave and other forms of leave.
The sick leave rules are described in:
Circular/Letter to Personnel
Officers
Circular 25/78
Circular Letter 7/78
Confidential Circular 6/64
Circulars 34/76, 32/91, 33/99,
17/03,
Conf. Circular 3/91,
Letters to Personnel Officers of
23 October 1978 and
12 July 1996
Confidential Circular 4/91
Letter to Personnel Officers of
2 December 1992
Letter to Personnel Officers
18/4/2001
Letter to Personnel Officers
21/5/2003
Circular 9/04
Letter to Personnel Officers
16/2/2006
Letter to Personnel Officers
22/2/2008
Circular 15/2009
Title & Content
Sick Leave. The standard sick leave circular – deals with the conditions applying to
the grant of sick leave and the time limits for paid sick leave
Sick Leave. Addressed more to Personnel Sections than to individual officers –
complements 25/78 (above) by dealing with responsibilities and duties of personnel
staff in context of sick leave
Sick Absences of Officers on Probation. Sets down sick leave limits for
probationers. This circular is often used in conjunction with the circulars on sick
leave limits for promotion
Clearance of candidates for promotion or establishment – sick absences and health
considerations. This group of circulars/letters set down the sick leave limits for
eligibility for promotion. 34/76 is the standard circular:
 32/91 amends it by allowing an appeal ‘to a specialist for a further medical
opinion’;
 33/99 amends it with guidance on how to treat an ‘isolated episode of
illness’;
 17/03 amends it with guidance on how to treat absences ‘due to a
disability’;
 Conf. Circular 3/91 helps clarify role of CMO in context of adequacy of
medical certs;
 The two letters to Personnel Officers offer clarifications on 34/76
Sick leave during or after pregnancy. Offers clarification on dealing with
pregnancy-related illness
Procedures to be followed when a head of Department/Office is not satisfied with
the medical evidence produced by an officer in support of an application for sick
leave with pay
Sick Leave entitlement in respect of public holidays
Confidentiality of Medical Certificates
Sick Leave and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Deals with
entitlement to public holidays/privilege days while out on sick leave; deals also with
deduction of annual leave or deduction of pay in respect of ‘excessive uncertified
sick leave’
Fitness of Civil Servants to return to work following sick leave.
Management of Sick Leave and Case Referrals to the CMO's Office
Pregnancy-Related Sick Leave
Circular 22/07
Circular 9/2010
Letter to Personnel Officers
20/12/2010
Ill-Health Retirement from the Civil Service. Sets out the procedures to be followed
in a case of ill-health retirement, either on the initiative of the civil servant or of the
Department/Office. (Supersedes Circular 7/57).
Management of Sick Leave
Sick Leave at Pension rate of pay
The paid sick leave entitlement is 183 days in any twelve month period and 365 days in any four year
period. After 183 days on sick leave at full pay (counting back twelve months from the most recent sick
leave cert), an officer then goes on half pay for a further 183 days (at this stage counting back four years
from the most recent sick leave cert).
Sick leave and civil servants who pay full PRSI
Civil servants pay full PRSI since 6 April 1995. This has implications for the working of the sick leave
scheme. Since 6 April 1995, all new civil servants sign a mandate on entry to the civil service. Under the
mandate system Departments continue to give sick pay according to Circular 25/78, but they recoup from
the Department of Social Protection any welfare benefits to which the sick staff were entitled during the
period of sick leave (Circular 6/95, esp. para. 8-11 – see below).
Sick leave due to occupational injury/disease
Those who are out sick due to an occupational injury/disease are the only group in the civil service who
receive a concession in the context of the paid sick leave scheme.
In their case, illness due to an
occupational injury/disease is discounted. In practice, this means that they have six months on full pay due
to the occupational injury/disease, and a further six months (if necessary) on full pay due to ‘ordinary’
illness. Assuming that they have ordinary illness, they can have, therefore, up to 1 year of sick leave on
full pay. After 6 months on sick leave due to an occupational injury, and 6 months of sick leave due to
ordinary illness (if there is ordinary illness), they will go on half pay (Circular 1/82 and 6/97, para.5 – see
below). All other civil servants (except those suffering from TB), including those with pregnancy-related
and disability-related sick leave, will go on half pay after six months sick leave.
Sick leave and promotion
Sick leave is also important in the assessment of the suitability of staff for promotion. For promotion
purposes, no more than 56 days sick leave and 25 sick absences in four years are allowed. If sick leave
exceeds these limits, the promotion will be delayed. However if, on examination, it is found that the sick
absences were due to a once-off, non-recurring illness the promotion may then proceed. Illnesses arising
from complications during or following pregnancy are normally regarded as non-recurring for purposes of
promotion. As illnesses in pregnancy are not necessarily pregnancy related, the Circular directs Personnel
Officers to consult with the Chief Medical Officer where medical advice is required to determine whether a
particular illness is pregnancy-related.
Sick Leave at Pension Rate of Pay
When the paid sick leave entitlement of a civil servant is exhausted, i.e. 6 months on full pay followed
by a further 6 months on half-pay (cf. Circular 25/78: Sick Leave, Appendix A), the civil servant may
be put on pension rate of pay if the medical indications are that he/she will, with some more time, be
able to return to work (the amount of time on pension rate is not specified). Acting on the medical
advice, the Personnel Officer will then put the civil servant on pension rate of pay.
The civil servant is put on pension rate of pay because his/her entitlement to paid sick leave has been
exhausted. Although he/she continues to be ill while on pension rate of pay, he/she is on the way to
recovery and as such, the illness would not constitute a disability as defined by the Equal Status Act
2000, Section 2. Illness beyond the paid sick leave limits, not disability (as defined by the Act), is the
reason for pension rate of pay. Illness (even long illness) and disability are not the same.
If at the end of the paid sick leave entitlement, the medical indications are that the civil servant will not
be able to return to work, the Personnel Officer, acting on this medical advice, would be expected to
recommend retirement of the officer from the civil service. The officer in question may appeal this
recommendation/decision to the medical referee.
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