Statutory sick pay changes to cost employers up to €1,100 more a year for each worker

The new scheme will begin on January 1 next year, with workers initially being entitled to three days of paid sick leave a year and then increasing to ten days of paid sick leave by 2025.

Neil McDonnell, chief executive of Isme: 'We have this really bizarre effort to out-left each other in the Oireachtas at the minute and just increase entitlements without any visible means of support'.

Employers will have to pay up to €1,100 extra a year for each worker to fund the new statutory sick pay scheme, according to official figures.

Leo Varadkar, the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, has acknowledged that some employers will find it difficult to pay for two weeks of sick leave for their workers.

According to a regulatory impact assessment by his department, the cost will range from €571.20 a year for a worker on ...