If an accident at work leaves you unable to do your job, your first payment may come from your employer. In Ireland in 2026, eligible employees can receive up to five days of statutory sick pay per calendar year. Your employment contract may provide more. If you remain unfit for work, the Department of Social Protection may pay Injury Benefit. Whether you receive your full wages depends on your employer’s scheme, your usual pay and the payments you qualify for.
What must my employer pay after an accident at work?
For statutory sick pay, you generally need 13 weeks’ continuous service with that employer and a certificate from a registered medical practitioner stating that you are unfit for work. The entitlement covers days you would ordinarily have worked. You can use the five days together or separately, and days already taken for another illness in the same calendar year count towards the total.
The statutory rate is 70% of your usual daily earnings, subject to a maximum of €110 per day. For example, an employee with fixed gross pay of €100 for a normal working day would receive €70 for a qualifying day. An employee with fixed gross pay of €200 for the day would receive €110 because the cap applies. A more favourable employer scheme may provide full pay for an agreed period. Ask payroll which scheme it is applying, how many days you have left and whether any social welfare payment goes to you or to the employer. Workplace Relations Commission guidance on sick leave.
When does Injury Benefit start?
Injury Benefit is a weekly social welfare payment for people in qualifying insured employment who cannot work because of an occupational accident or a prescribed occupational disease. The Department checks your PRSI class and medical incapacity. Your employer’s decision about full pay is a separate question.
If you qualify for both schemes, have used none of your statutory days and are off long enough, the Department’s example has the employer paying the first five qualifying days and Injury Benefit starting on day six. If you have already used all five days, Injury Benefit can generally start on day four after three waiting days. If you have used only some days, or have been with the employer for less than 13 weeks, the starting point can differ. A more favourable employer scheme may require the benefit to be paid over to the employer while it continues your wages. Department examples for 2026, including partly used sick leave.
How do I apply, and how long can the payment last?
Tell your doctor that the injury happened at work and ask about the Certificate of Incapacity for Work. Your doctor can submit that certificate electronically. You must also make the benefit application. The Department identifies form IB1 and says to apply within six weeks. Keep a copy or acknowledgement of the application. If six weeks have already passed, contact the Department promptly about making a late claim.
Injury Benefit can run for up to 26 weeks if you remain medically unfit and meet the conditions. If you are unable to work for three days or less, the Department says you can still register the accident to protect your position if its effects develop later. Department of Social Protection’s Injury Benefit application guidance and Injury Benefit operational guidelines.
What if my sick pay and Injury Benefit leave me short?
Keep a weekly record with three figures: the pay you would ordinarily have received, the pay your employer actually issued and the social welfare payment for the same dates. Mark any benefit paid directly to the employer so it is counted only once. If overtime made a regular difference to your wages, keep the earlier payslips and rosters that show the pattern.
Keep a separate record of the accident itself. The blank workplace accident report form lets you record the date, any witnesses, who you told and when your duties changed. That record helps put a figure on the income gap. Recovering loss of earnings in a personal injury claim also requires evidence of legal responsibility and a connection between the injury, the certified absence and the loss. A reduction in wages by itself does not establish those matters. See how to prove loss of earnings for the documents and the guide to accident at work claims for the evidence about the accident itself.
