Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023

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Illness benefit (entitlement to benefit)

24. Section 40 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (2A):

“(2B) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (2A), a person shall not be entitled to illness benefit—

(a) for any day in respect of which the person is entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022, or

(b) for any day in respect of which the person, where he or she is otherwise entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 is, instead of and in substitution for that entitlement to the statutory sick leave days concerned, being provided by his or her employer with a sick leave scheme under the Act of 2022.

(2C) Subsection (2B) shall not apply in a case where an exemption is for the time being in force under section 10 of the Act of 2022 in respect of the employer of the person concerned.

(2D) Notwithstanding subsections (2), (2A) and (2B), a person shall not be entitled to illness benefit for the first day of any such entitlement, where in the immediately preceding 6 days the person is entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 in respect of a Sunday.”,

and

(b) in subsection (3), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (ea):

“(eb) for the purpose of paragraph (ea), in calculating the total of 624 days, the following days shall, in addition to any days in respect of which the person was in receipt of illness benefit, be included in the calculation:

(i) any statutory sick leave days under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of such sick leave;

(ii) any day in respect of which the person, where he or she is otherwise entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 is, instead of and in substitution for that entitlement to the statutory sick leave days concerned, being provided by his or her employer with a sick leave scheme under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of payment under such scheme.”.