SK Biotek Ireland sick-pay complaint fails

The Workplace Relations Commission found Martin O’Dowd’s complaint against SK Biotek Ireland Limited not well founded. The decision was dated 31 August 2022. O’Dowd said he supplied medical certificates for his absence in September 2020 and that the company withheld sick pay. The company said sick pay was discretionary under its policy and denied making an unlawful wage deduction. The adjudication officer noted that employees had no statutory entitlement to paid sick leave before the Sick Leave Act 2022 scheme began. The complaint under the Payment of Wages Act failed.