Food handler sickness exclusion in Ireland: reporting, the 48-hour rule and returning to work

One food handler working through a stomach bug can make dozens of customers ill. Irish food safety guidance puts two duties side by side: the food handler must report illness, and the employer must make sure no food handler poses a risk to food safety. Here's how that works in a restaurant, pub or café.

The short version

Where the rules come from

Fitness to work is one of the prerequisite programmes the FSAI says every food business must have: procedures for staff suffering from gastrointestinal infections, hepatitis, wounds or other relevant health problems. It sits under the personal hygiene requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, which the FSAI's Safe Catering Pack and guidance apply to Irish kitchens.

The FSAI puts the employer side plainly: the law puts the responsibility on employers to satisfy themselves that no food handlers pose a risk to food safety. It recommends a written policy for dealing with staff who are sick, and the Fitness to Work Assessment Form (SC7) to decide whether staff are fit to work, kept on file.

What food handlers must report

The FSAI says staff who are ill must tell the manager, and makes clear that diarrhoea and/or vomiting must by law be reported immediately. The FSAI's Guide to Food Safety Skills lists what food handlers should report to their manager or supervisor:

• diarrhoea;
• vomiting;
• jaundice;
• fever;
• sore throat with fever;
• infected skin lesions (such as a boil or infected wound) or cuts on exposed skin: hands, arms, face, neck or scalp;
• pus-containing discharges from the eyes, ears, nose or mouth and gums.

Staff should also tell their manager about any cuts or sores. The FSAI's SC7 form says these should be completely covered with a brightly coloured waterproof dressing.

Counting the 48 hours

The 48 hours start from the end of the last symptom, not the start of the illness. A worked example (illustrative only):

• A chef is sick on Monday night, with the last bout of diarrhoea at 6am Tuesday.
• 48 hours symptom-free ends at 6am Thursday.
• The earliest they can return to handling food is a Thursday shift starting after 6am, provided there's been no further symptom.

If symptoms come back, the clock restarts.

The SC7 form asks the returning food handler whether they've had diarrhoea and/or vomiting in the last 48 hours, and whether they've taken any medication in that time to control it. On SC7, a "yes" to either question means the person shouldn't handle food yet.

When 48 hours isn't enough

The FSAI's SC7 form notes that the exclusion time may be longer depending on the food poisoning bacteria, and tells you to check with your local Department of Public Health. If a member of staff is diagnosed with a specific infection (their GP or the lab will usually tell them), don't apply the 48-hour rule on your own: ask public health what applies, and follow it.

SC7 also asks whether the person has ever had, or is known to be a carrier of, typhoid or paratyphoid, and whether in the last 21 days they've been in contact with anyone, at home or abroad, who may have had it. A "yes" to any SC7 question means the person should not handle food or enter food handling areas where there's any likelihood of direct or indirect contamination, and you should seek advice, for example from your EHO or their doctor.

What to do on the day

When a food handler calls in, or becomes ill at work:

1. Don't let them handle food. If they're already at work, move them out of food handling areas or send them home. The FSAI's SC7 form says they may be given a different job with no direct contact with food, away from where food is stored or handled; with active vomiting or diarrhoea, home is usually the right answer.
2. Throw away any unwrapped food they handled.
3. Clean and disinfect any area where someone was sick, and anything they touched: work surfaces, handles, taps, toilets. Ideally, whoever cleans up isn't preparing food that shift; gloves and an apron, then wash hands thoroughly.
4. Record it. Name, date, symptoms reported, when they left, who was told, what food was discarded.
5. Fix the roster. Cover the shifts for at least the next two days so there's no pressure to come back early.
6. Watch the rest of the team. If others become ill, or customers report illness, contact your HSE Environmental Health Office.

Returning to work

Before the food handler handles food again:

• confirm they've had no symptoms for 48 hours (or longer, if public health has said so);
• complete a return-to-work fitness to work assessment (SC7, tick "return to work after illness"), signed by the employee and the manager;
• remind them about handwashing: before starting work, after using the toilet, and throughout the shift;
• check any cuts or sores are covered with a brightly coloured waterproof dressing.

The FSAI's Guide to Food Safety Skills also expects food handlers to complete a return-to-work form after illness and recommends a medical questionnaire before employment. SC7 can be used for both: on recruitment, for existing staff, and for return to work.

Pre-employment and existing staff

SC7 is designed for three moments:

• new food handlers on recruitment;
• existing food handlers (a periodic check);
• return to work after illness.

Keep completed forms confidentially: they contain health information. They're part of the evidence an EHO may ask to see that you have a fitness to work procedure.

Don't make honesty expensive

Exclusion only works if people report symptoms. A KP on low hours who'll lose two shifts' pay has every reason to stay quiet. Some things that help:

• Make reporting normal. Cover it at induction, as the FSAI's training guide does, and say it again in team announcements.
• Never criticise someone for reporting. Thank them.
• Know the sick pay rules. Under the Sick Leave Act 2022, an employee with at least 13 weeks' continuous service is entitled to up to 5 days' statutory sick pay a year, paid by you at 70% of normal pay, up to €110 a day, with a medical certificate. Your contracts may pay more.
• Plan cover. Have a short list of staff happy to pick up extra shifts at short notice.

Build it into your routine

• Written sickness and fitness to work policy, shown to every new starter
• Reporting illness covered in induction before anyone handles food
• SC7 completed on recruitment and on every return after illness
• Manager knows the 48-hour rule and when to call public health
• Unwrapped food handled by a sick worker thrown away
• Clean-up procedure for vomiting incidents, with gloves, apron and disinfectant ready
• Cover plan so no one feels pushed to return early

For the training side, see our guide to food safety training in Ireland.

How ShiftComplete helps

ShiftComplete can't diagnose anyone, and it doesn't store health forms: keep SC7s on file. It does help with the practical side. When someone is excluded, the roster shows who's marked themselves available so you can cover the next two days without guesswork, and the updated roster goes straight to staff phones. You can log the event as an incident with notes, status and resolution, so there's a record of when they left and what was discarded. Team announcements keep the reporting rule in front of everyone, and cleaning checklists can include a required photo for the deep clean after a sickness incident.

ShiftComplete costs €1.99 per active staff member per month, free for 60 days, no card and no contract. Start a free trial.