ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference:  ADJ-00061953

Parties:

Complaint:

Date of Adjudication Hearing:  09/07/2026

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Gaye Cunningham

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, following the referral of the complaint  to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint. This matter was heard by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 and S.I. 359 of 2020, which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings.

Background:

The complaint submitted was that the Complainant was penalised for exercising her rights under the Sick Leave Act 2022.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

In September / October 2024, the Complainant applied for 2 weeks leave under the Shorter Working Year Scheme to take effect from 30th June 2025.  She was on sick leave from 31st March 2025 and sought a deferral of the Shorter Working Year leave.  This was declined and she was paid while she was on sick leave.  She stated that it could be deferred at Line Manager’s discretion and that in the ‘frequently asked questions’ regarding SWYS, it stated that an application could be deferred if a person was on long term sick leave.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent submitted that the Sick Leave Act 2022 does not apply as the Respondent has a sick leave scheme which provides for greater benefits that the basic provisions of the Act.  She has not been penalised for exercising her rights under the Sick Leave Act.     Further, the Complainant did not exhaust internal procedures in relation to her grievance.

Findings and Conclusions:

 The preamble to the Sick Leave Act 2022 states that its purpose is,

… to provide that employees shall, subject to certain conditions, be entitled to up to and including 3 statutory leave days. 

Clearly, the legislation is intended to confer a benefit on employees with no contractual entitlement to paid sick leave.

Section 8 provides:

8. (1) Nothing in this Act shall prevent the inclusion in a contract of employment of a provision that is –

(a) as favourable to an employee as, or

(b) more favourable to an employee than,

an entitlement to statutory sick leave in accordance with this Act, and any such provision shall be in substitution for and not in addition to that entitlement.

The Complainant in this instant case has a dispute with the Respondent in relation to the application of sick pay during a period when she had intended to take Shorter Working Year Scheme leave.  I find that the complaint under the Sick Leave Act is misconceived and is not well founded.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

Based on the findings and reasons above, I have decided that the complaint is not well founded.

Dated:   7th of September 2026.

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Gaye Cunningham

Key Words: