Posts Tagged ‘Sick Leave’
Sickness & Holidays–ECJ Clarity
We’ve written loads in the past about what holidays an employee is entitled to when they are off sick. Although there has been some cases – mainly in overseas courts or the Employment Tribunal – it’s all been a bit zig-zag in terms of making progress.
Worry no longer – we appear to have some clarity from our old friends the judges at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). They have ruled that if an employee is ill while on annual leave they have the right to reclaim additional paid leave of the same duration at a later date. This applies regardless of when their ill-health commenced.
As the ECJ put it : "The purpose of entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable the worker to rest and enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure.
The purpose of entitlement to sick leave is different, since it enables a worker to recover from an illness that has caused him or her to be unfit for work.
“The point at which the temporary incapacity arose is irrelevant. Consequently, a worker is entitled to take paid annual leave which coincides with a period of sick leave at a later point in time, irrespective of the point at which the incapacity for work arose."
The ECJ ruling is binding across all members of the EU. The UK government has said that the ruling will apply in the UK from October 2012.
So there you go – we got there in the end!
European Decision on Sick Leave & Holidays
Well just like London buses the cases on this are coming thick and fast! You can read our last blog posts on this here and here .
A German case was heard by the European Court of Justice on Tuesday this week regarding whether an employee who was off ill could carry forward holidays. This seems now to be the main issue that is unresolved.
Eversheds have produced a piece for their Education HR publication. Although it’s aimed at educational establishments the impact of the case affects all employers.
You can click through to the article here.
The position now seems to be that workers who are on sick leave have a choice: they can take annual leave if they want to, but if they don’t want to they can insist on postponing their annual leave and taking it at a later date. That can even mean taking it in a later holiday year if it’s not possible to take the leave before the current year ends.
I can’t help that thinking that this is one step forward and then two back. As always with this particular issue – watch this space!
Steve Clark
Holiday Entitlements for Sick Workers : More Developments!
It seems that this issue is going to continue to be a perennial favourite until we get some legislative clarity.
In his blog Innes Clark of Morton Fraser solicitors comments on a recent Tribunal decision on the issue of whether an employee who is off sick can carry forward unused holidays. It’s an issue that has seen many twists and turns in terms of whether this is possible. It’s all got a little like the Little Britain character Vicky Pollard – yeah but, no but, yeah but etc etc.
Have a read of Innes’s excellent article here. As always if you have any employees in this position you would be well advised to speak to your legal adviser. If you don’t have one – I’m sure Morton Fraser would love to speak to you!