WRC rejects five sick pay complaints against Tesco

The Workplace Relations Commission rejected five complaints by Tesco Ireland Limited employee Rachel Fitzpatrick over deductions from her sick pay. The decision, dated 10 November 2022, found that her pay matched the sick pay terms in her contract. Fitzpatrick said she had not received her full sick pay entitlement. Tesco said she had received eight weeks of sick pay under its contract and policy, and that a review led to a refund after she supplied documentation about her illness benefit entitlement. The WRC found the contract provided for sick pay less the current value of social welfare illness benefit, after the first three unpaid days. It concluded that the wages paid were those properly payable under the contract, so the deductions were not unlawful.