The government is urging all employers to continue paying staff who cannot attend work due to Coronavirus illness or certified self-isolation.
They're being asked to pay the difference between the special Illness Benefit rate and their employee's normal wages.
Govt is joining with employers groups and unions calling on all employers to continue to pay employees as normal if they have coronavirus symptoms. Wants employers to do all they can to allow staff to deal with that while also on normal pay. pic.twitter.com/W8qj5VGqBt
— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) March 11, 2020
The government says it accepts that there will be some companies who will not be able t afford this given their financial situation in the crisis.
On Monday a €2.4 billion package of reforms around sick pay and illness benefit were agreed in response to the outbreak.
The measures mean the rate of sick pay will rise and the benefit will be paid to those impacted by the outbreak from the first day they're absent from work.
In a joint statement, the government, trade unions, and employers say "an unprecedented shared national effort will be required to respond to the global and national public health crisis arising from Covid-19."
