Recording illness, maternity and paternity benefit

If an employee can't work due to sickness, they may be entitled to receive illness benefit payments from the Department of Social Protection.

Illness benefit can be claimed by any employee within seven days of becoming ill. No payment is made for the first 6 days of illness, which are known as waiting days. Illness payments made to the employee commence on the seventh day of absence.

To qualify for illness benefit, the employee must be aged under 66, covered by the appropriate class of social insurance (PRSI) and satisfy the PRSI conditions.

Either the employee or employer must submit an illness benefit application form to the Department of Social Protection. A doctor also needs to certify the application. You should stipulate on the application form, whether the employer or the employee should receive the illness payments.

For more information, visit www.welfare.ie

You aren't obliged to pay employees on illness leave unless stated in their employment contract.

When an employee qualifies for illness benefit, the Department of Social Protection confirms in writing to the employer the amount of illness benefit and the commencement date of payment.

The employee usually keeps the cheque when they don't receive sick pay from the company. The employer usually keeps the cheque when the employee does receive sick pay from the company.

Illness benefit is taxable from the first day of payment. However, there may be circumstances where a portion of the illness payment is exempt from tax calculation. All illness payments are exempt from the calculations of pay related social insurance (PRSI) and universal social charge (USC).

For more information about the taxation of illness benefit, visit www.revenue.ie

You need to ensure you have the following information to hand:

• The exact dates the employee was absent due to sickness.
• Who receives the illness benefit welfare payments from Department of Social Protection (DSP) - the employee or your company?
• Is there any portion of the illness benefit payments that's exempt from tax calculation.
• The total value of illness benefit payments you need to record in your software.

There are a number of different ways you can record illness benefit for an employee. The option you use depends on whether you pay the employee while they are on sick leave or not, and who keeps the illness benefit welfare payments. For more information, please click the relevant option below:

• Recording illness benefit: If the employee keeps the welfare payments but doesn't receive any pay from your company

• Recording illness benefit: If the employee keeps the welfare payments and also receives pay from your company

• Recording illness benefit: If the employee keeps the welfare payments but isn't returning to work in the current tax year

• Recording illness benefit: If your company keeps the welfare payments and pays the employee their normal wages

• Recording illness benefit: If your company gets the welfare payments but doesn't pay the employee any wages

If an employee becomes pregnant while in your employment, she is entitled to take maternity leave. The entitlement to a basic period of maternity leave from employment extends to all female employees, regardless of how long they have been working with your company. They can also take additional unpaid maternity leave.

As stated in the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, employees are entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave together with 16 weeks additional unpaid maternity leave, which begins immediately after the end of maternity leave.

For more information, visit www.welfare.ie

You aren't obliged to pay employees on maternity leave unless stated in their employment contract. The employee must give your company at least four weeks written notice before taking maternity leave.

The employee must submit a maternity benefit application form to the Department of Social Protection at least six weeks before they intend to go on maternity leave. For more information, visit www.welfare.ie

Maternity benefit is taxable from the first day of payment. However, if you record maternity benefit on the payroll, you don't need to claim any tax on these payments. Revenue claim all tax relating to maternity benefit directly from the employee by reducing their yearly tax credit and cut off point. You receive notification from the Revenue of these reduced credits through an amended P2C tax certificate.

If you're a Revenue Online Service (ROS) customer, you can download the amended P2C file from the Revenue website - www.ros.ie. You can then import this into your software using the P2C tax credit import option.

As stated in the Paternity Leave and Benefit Bill 2016, employees who are a relevant parent in relation to a child are entitled to two weeks' paternity leave to be taken at any time within 26 weeks of the birth or placement. The definition of a 'relevant parent' has been drafted to provide for same sex couples.

Paternity leave can be taken by one person only. However, in the case of adoption, this legislation allows for circumstances where the birth father will have taken paternity leave, by ensuring that the adoptive father can subsequently also take paternity leave.

The entitlement to paternity leave applies where the date of confinement - or, in the case of adoption, the date of placement of the child - falls on or after 1 September 2016.

Self-employed fathers who meet certain social insurance contribution requirements, set out in Section 31 of the Bill, also qualify for paternity benefit.

For more information, visit www.welfare.ie

You aren't obliged to pay employees on paternity leave unless stated in their employment contract. The employee must give your company at least four weeks written notice before taking paternity leave.

The weekly rate of paternity benefit, set out in Section 61D of the Bill, will be an amount equivalent either to the amount of illness benefit, including any increases of that benefit, which the person would otherwise receive if he or she was entitled to that benefit, or 230 Euro, whichever is the greater.

Paternity leave will usually need to be applied for four weeks in advance and taken in a single two-week period. For more information, visit www.welfare.ie

Paternity benefit is taxable from the first day of payment. However, if you record paternity benefit on your payroll, you don't need to claim any tax on these payments. Revenue claim all tax relating to paternity benefit directly from the employee by reducing their yearly tax credit and cut off point. You receive notification from the Revenue of these reduced credits through an amended P2C tax certificate.

If you're a Revenue Online Service (ROS) customer, you can download the amended P2C file from the Revenue website - www.ros.ie. You can then import this into your software using the P2C tax credit import option.