A maritime staffing agency has become the first company in Ireland found to be in breach of new legislation on sick leave which came into force last year, reports RTE. In a Workplace Relations Commission decision published earlier this week, the staffing agency, North Quay Associates Ltd, was ordered to pay €450 to worker Michael Broderick over a complaint under the Sick Leave Act 2022.

The new law, which requires employers to pay a worker 70% of their wages while out sick, subject to a €110-a-day cap, came into force at the start of 2023.The right to sick leave is being phased in, with three days' leave provided for in 2023 and five days in 2024. It will rise to ten days’ leave in 2026.

In his complaint form, Broderick claimed he was not paid what he was entitled to under the legislation for three days’ sick leave in July 2023 and that payments which were made to him were "inaccurate". North Quay Associates fully accepted at a hearing last month that it had failed to comply with its statutory obligations.

In her decision, adjudicator Penelope McGrath noted that the last payment relating to Mr Broderick's sick leave was made in January this year. She wrote that the employer "has yet to fully grapple with the implications of the sick leave legislation and that a clear policy needs to be prepared".