What can your employer legally cut from pay if your out Sick

[lucashood1977]

I was out sick last month for 2 weeks with a back issue. I had gone over my sick leave entitlement so did not expect to be paid for this time I missed . As well as normal base pay and shift I also work on call and get a set number of OT hrs per callout . I just had a look at my payslip for August and instead of deducting from base pay hrs that I was absent for they deducted from the overtime that I accrued through callouts . Surely this isn't legal ? I came on site out of normal business hours . I did those callouts surely I should be paid for them because as a result of deducting this way my salary is being hit much more significantly compared to how it would be if they cut from my base pay hours

 

[ClubMan]

Your post is a bit difficult to follow.
You seem to be saying that they docked you pay for time that you were in work and not for the time that you were off sick?

What does your contract of employment/employee handbook say about your employer's sick leave procedures?

Statutory entitlements to sick leave/pay are outlined here:

Sick leave and sick pay

This page describes the new entitlement to paid sick leave of 5 days a year, paid at 70% of normal pay up to a maximum of €110 a day.

www.citizensinformation.ie

Anything above and beyond that should be explained in your contract of employment/employee handbook.

You may qualify for illness benefit for some or all of the time that you were off sick in case that helps at all?

Illness Benefit

Information about Illness Benefit, a payment made to people under 66 who are unable to work because of illness.

www.citizensinformation.ie

 

[Salvadore]

I just had a look at my payslip for August and instead of deducting from base pay hrs that I was absent for they deducted from the overtime that I accrued through callouts .

Do you mean that you had call-outs in the rest of July i.e. the period when you weren’t out sick?

And that the overtime hours you got from these call-outs were the ones deducted in respect of sick leave instead of the regular hours you worked?

On the face of it sounds unfair but it depends on the terms of the sick leave scheme which should form part of your contract.

Normally there’s a value attached to a period of absence and it’s this value that’s subsequently deducted.

Surely this isn't legal ? I came on site out of normal business hours . I did those callouts surely I should be paid for them because as a result of deducting this way my salary is being hit much more significantly compared to how it would be if they cut from my base pay hours

Were you told explicitly that your overtime hours were the ones being deducted?

 

[Clamball]

Payroll clerks do make errors, so a simple query to them might help explain the calculations used.

You message is confusing but is it payment for being on call that has built into your working week. If you are off sick from the normal shift, should you consider yourself as not being on call and thus would get no pay?

 

[lucashood1977]

Your post is a bit difficult to follow.
You seem to be saying that they docked you pay for time that you were in work and not for the time that you were off sick?

What does your contract of employment/employee handbook say about your employer's sick leave procedures?

Statutory entitlements to sick leave/pay are outlined here:

Sick leave and sick pay

This page describes the new entitlement to paid sick leave of 5 days a year, paid at 70% of normal pay up to a maximum of €110 a day.

www.citizensinformation.ie

Anything above and beyond that should be explained in your contract of employment/employee handbook.

You may qualify for illness benefit for some or all of the time that you were off sick in case that helps at all?

Illness Benefit

Information about Illness Benefit, a payment made to people under 66 who are unable to work because of illness.

www.citizensinformation.ie

I get paid monthly on a monthly basis , any OT I get this month will have been done in the previous month. And Yes they docked me the OT pay I came on site to do during out of office hours not the time I was actually off sick for which was flat rate time. I am entitled to illness benefit and I don't expect to be paid for the time I was off site however they cant decide on a whim to take the time out of the callout overtime hrs just because they feel like it

 

[lucashood1977]

Do you mean that you had call-outs in the rest of July i.e. the period when you weren’t out sick?

And that the overtime hours you got from these call-outs were the ones deducted in respect of sick leave instead of the regular hours you worked?

On the face of it sounds unfair but it depends on the terms of the sick leave scheme which should form part of your contract.

Normally there’s a value attached to a period of absence and it’s this value that’s subsequently deducted.

Were you told explicitly that your overtime hours were the ones being deducted?

1. Yes I had callouts in the period in July I wasn't sick for and yes from looking at my payslip it was the OT hours I did that are being instead of the regular hrs . Its as clear as they on my payslip. I only saw it today , waiting to hear back on an explanation

 

[lucashood1977]

Payroll clerks do make errors, so a simple query to them might help explain the calculations used.

You message is confusing but is it payment for being on call that has built into your working week. If you are off sick from the normal shift, should you consider yourself as not being on call and thus would get no pay?

No its not payment for being oncall thats being deducted , its payment for coming onsite and actually doing a callout

 

[Salvadore]

1. Yes I had callouts in the period in July I wasn't sick for and yes from looking at my payslip it was the OT hours I did that are being instead of the regular hrs . Its as clear as they on my payslip. I only saw it today , waiting to hear back on an explanation

It doesn’t sound right. It could be just an error. See how the query goes and then see where that leaves you