Sick leave and payments-TRR & illness benefit?

Bullrush11

Hi there,

I have been on sick leave for the last 6 months. I was lucky to be paid 3 months full pay, then 3 months half pay. Now the pay has stopped altogether. I have almost 29 years full service with the civil service employer. My doctor has been creating sick certs every 4 weeks for me since early March which I have repeatedly submitted and I am still submitting sick certs to my line manager. The workplace doctor evaluated me about 2 weeks ago and their opinion which they emailed to HR "was that although I was recovering I was still unfit to return to work". My pay was then stopped early September and HR responded to me that I may be able to apply for TRR (temporary rehabilitation remuneration ) so I filled out the TRR form they had attached and returned it to HR. I'm not certain I will get the TRR though. Can I apply for sickness/illness benefit which is about 210 per week and keep this if the TRR comes through. i.e. can you receive TRR and illness benefit simultaneously?

Many thanks

TooTired123

I work for the civil service and was out sick for 3 months a couple of years ago.

I was heavily advised by admin. to apply for Illness Benefit right from the start and forward it to salaries every week.

I did that because apparently another employee hadn’t applied for IB and was informed when she returned to work that they’d assumed she’d applied and that she was obliged to reimburse her Dept with the full amount of IB she’d received. It actually makes sense if you think about it. She had in fact applied for it and got it, but had spent most of it, inexplicably believing that she could have both her wages and her illness benefit too.

Im 99% certain that they will have assumed that you applied for it back at the start and will ask you to reimburse them with the full amount of illness benefit dating back to the 4th day of your incapacity for work.

You need to apply for your illness Benefit going back to the start. *Im assuming you’ve been making an A Class contribution all these years. You will have to explain to SW why you are late in your application.

Your GP may not be too happy with this. You also need to connect with salaries and find out what you need to do. The Union too, if you’re a member.

Goldengirl

I think you should be applying for illness benefit now and just tell your hr department or wages and salaries when youare granted TRR.

The two are not linked as TRR assumes you are being paid something by DoSP as per the fact that it is an illness payment.

What would s/he have to refund @TooTired123 if s/he has not been getting an illness benefit payment in the first place.. Ie full pay /half pay

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apache

I'm surprised the job didn't look for the illness benefit application form. Mine did.

I'm on TRR now a few months. It's not that much more than social welfare. About €100 extra a week.

I'm seriously considering stop sending my certs in and call it a day. I won't be going back. I don't think early retirement on medical grounds is worth much. I'll have to speak to someone about it. Speak to the EAP. They will hopefully guide you in the right direction.

You're supposed to claim illness benefit to be paid into your employers account and then they pay you. You'll need to get on to that.

TooTired123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121087570#Comment_121087570

They were getting illness benefit during their entire sick leave. Full pay and illness benefit. They inexplicably and stupidly assumed they could keep the illness benefit so it was spent.

When she returned from sick leave she got an email from HR pointing out that she hasn’t reimbursed the Dept with her illness benefit and could she do that at her earliest possible convenience.

Goldengirl

Oh ok. I get that she did. But the OP didn't. I don't think it is the same as TRR.

TooTired123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121088017#Comment_121088017

The point is that in the public service they expect you to have applied for IB.

Your dept pays you your contracted sick pay and they expect to be reimbursed with your IB.

If you didn’t apply for it back at the start of your sick leave then your GP may not want to back date your certificate of incapacity, and SW may question your entitlement.

But you will still owe it to your department.

Gerard93

The Illness Benefit received by an employee this is taxable does Revenue deduct Tax due by reducing Tax Credits?

I am asking as I am in a similar situation out sick for past 3 x weeks claimed IB but received full pay for same period. I intend to give the IB to my employer but just wondering about Revenue taxing the IB ?

Goldengirl

@TooTired123 I get you now. I am thinking of my own work in the Health Service where the opposite applies.

The OP can ask the DoSP about this and explain his situation. They may request a statement from the GP as am not sure if those certs can be backdated. The GP can give those certs (should have been writing them all along?) but the Illness Benefit section will advise what is needed.

Either way he needs to be applying now regardless of TRR. TRR should be granted if he has worked the necessary time and not be affected by illness benefit.

His work can arrange to take back a minimum amount each month if he owes money.

There is no way he or your friend, too tired, should be asked to pay a lump sum back in one go while down on money due to sick leave. There is always an allowance for installments

OP.. its all manageable, just talk directly to Illness Benefit, and your HR dept and your GP aftetwards once you know what is needed.

Occ Health should help a bit more also.

TooTired123

The DEASP won’t ask a GP or anyone else for anything.

The DEASP have a contract with the applicant and no one else.

The applicant sends a self completed and signed illness benefit application form to DEASP.

The GP sends a certificate of incapacity for work either electronically or by post to the DEASP.

If it doesn’t arrive for whatever reason the DEASP write to the applicant, not the GP, pointing out that no cert has arrived and that payment will not be authorised until it does.

It seems in this case that neither application nor cert were ever sent.

A statement from the GP wouldn’t work. It has to be the certs that all GPs are issued with.

Some GPs will refuse to back date the cert if there isn’t a very good excuse. DEASP don’t like “I didn’t know I was entitled” as an excuse.

There is a section in the IB application which asks you if you want the payment made to yourself or to your employer.

The civil service don’t expect it to be paid back in one lump at all but it is over €5000 at a minimum so a payment plan will have to be put in place.

Goldengirl

No I did not say that the DOSP would ask the GP but they will have to have some form of letter /statement to explain why ithe certs were not supplied and the OP was sick for that length of time.

They mightnt 'like it' but there are appeals processes and leeway in these situations.

This negativity is not helping the OP. You make good points thoigh.

Its not a question of 'he can't', its that he will have to contact an executive officer by letter and explain his situation, and they will advise.

Ring the DoSP / Deasp first thing Monday OP and ask to speak to somebody directly about it.

You are at fault for not ' following the rules' maybe, but illness /accidents /surgery affects people where they aren't thinking straight or able for form filling or ringing asking questions, especially when you were under the impression that it was all under control and you were getting paid.

It happens. Say all of this.

I doubt you will get illnrss benefit back paid.

They will probably say forget about the certs for the last while and just start claiming now.

In which case you go back to work and find out if they were paying you that extra, and set up a repayment plan for when they start TRR, as little as possible.

Good luck.