Off sick in Ireland? Here is where your money comes from

Statutory sick leave comes from your employer. Illness Benefit comes from the State. They are not alternatives you choose between; they usually apply in sequence, and each needs its own piece of paper from a doctor.

Statutory sick leave — your employer pays

• Available once you have 13 weeks' continuous service with that employer.
• Covers 5 days per calendar year, paid at 70% of normal daily pay up to a daily cap.
• Your employer decides what medical evidence it needs — usually a medical certificate from a doctor.
• Your contract may be more generous than the statutory minimum. Check the staff handbook before assuming the minimum applies.

Illness Benefit — the State pays

• A PRSI-based payment, so it depends on your contribution record rather than your employer.
• Paid from the fourth day of illness; the first three days are not paid.
• The maximum personal rate in 2026 is €254 a week, with increases for a qualified adult and children. A reduced rate applies where average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year were low.
• It requires a Certificate of Incapacity for Work, which is a specific social welfare certificate, not an ordinary sick note.
• Claim within six weeks of becoming ill.
• You do not need to claim at all if the illness is short enough to fall inside your 5 statutory sick leave days.

The certificate distinction that trips people up

How the two fit together over a longer absence

1. Days 1–3: statutory sick leave from your employer if you qualify; Illness Benefit does not pay these days.
2. Days 4–5: statutory sick leave continues if you have days left; Illness Benefit can begin from day 4.
3. After your statutory days are used: Illness Benefit alone, unless your contract gives you occupational sick pay.
4. Long-term absence: if incapacity continues, Invalidity Pension or Disability Allowance may become relevant — that is a conversation for your own GP.

Getting the certificate without dragging yourself to a surgery

For a straightforward, self-limiting illness, a video or phone consultation is usually enough for a GP to assess you and issue a medical certificate the same day. At NOVAGP.IE that consultation is €39 and the certificate is issued digitally where it is clinically justified. We will not certify an absence we cannot assess, and we will not backdate a certificate beyond what an honest clinical record supports — both would put your claim and our registration at risk.

Share this guide