Increased illness benefit for COVID-19 absences

Country	Ireland , applies nationwide
Time period	Temporary, 13 March 2020 – 08 February 2022
Type	Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category	Income protection beyond short-time work – Paid sick leave
Author	Roisin Farelly (IRN Publishing) and Eurofound
Case created	25 April 2020 (updated 23 July 2021)

Background information

This is a boosted illness benefit entitlement for workers absent from work due to self-isolation or COVID-related medical treatment. When a worker is told to self-isolate by a doctor or the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) due to being a possible source of infection or has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) by a doctor, they can apply for an enhanced Illness Benefit payment of €350 per week.

To be eligible for this payment a person must be confined to their home or a medical facility.

The related legislation is: S.I. No. 97/2020 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Illness Benefit Payments Arising from COVID-19) Regulations 2020. It was passed on 3 April, but with from 9 March 2020.

Content of measure

To receive the enhanced payment, a worker must be self-isolating on the instruction of a doctor or the Health Service Executive (HSE) due to being a possible source of infection or diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and absent from work and confined to home or a medical facility.

The personal rate for this payment is €350, as compared with the normal Illness Benefit rate of €203. It was originally set at a rate of €305 but was increased by Government on March 24.

It will be paid for a maximum of 2 weeks where a person is self-isolating due to being a possible source of infection, and for a maximum of 10 weeks if a person has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus). If a person has been certified for less than 10 weeks, they will be paid for the duration of their certificate.

Application can be done online or by post with supporting documentation from an individual worker's doctor.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

02 July 2021	This is extended until 8 February 2022.
23 February 2021	Government announced this is extended until the end of June 2021.

Use of measure

Figures from the Department of Social Protection show that up to 9th March 2021, 140,249 people have been medically certified for receipt of a COVID-19 related Illness Benefit payment; 75,631 are female and 64,618 are male. The Wholesale and Retail Trade and Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles accounted for the sector with highest number of people certified (at 30,697). This was followed by Human Health And Social Work activities at 25,901 and Manufacturing at 19,204.

Between March and November 2020, a cumulative total of 81,999 people under the age of 66 have been medically certified for receipt of the COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

No involvement
Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

No involvement.

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