Hi everyone ,i have just been awarded ESA ,i think i will only be on it for about 6 weeks as i hope to return to work at the end of jan.
My problem is my work have decided as i have loads of holidays left they would put me down for a couple of days a week to use them up before april.Am i allowed to do this does anyone know or will it be seen as an income.I said to work not to pay them out yet and i would use them to make my hours up when i go back but somewhere along the line someone has decided to give me them.We also get paid for bank hold when we are off so there will be two more payments from my work.I am really honest and not sure if this is ok but feel that i should still be entitled to the ESA as my stat sick pay has run out and i have worked there 13 years paying tax act and never had sick pay before .I am on the lower ESA .
Not sure if anyone can help ? Thanks xxx
In light of a recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling, the following is applicable if you become ill during your holiday or just before you were due to take it. You can ask to convert the period of holiday concerned to sick leave and ask to take the missed annual leave at a later date.
You should follow the usual procedure for telling your employer you are ill (eg letting them know as soon as you can or providing medical certificates).
You may be unable to take all of your holiday entitlement within your leave year because of illness. In this case, the ECJ judgment also means you may be entitled to carry forward the entitlement you would otherwise lose to the next year.
Paula x
(HR Manager)
Thanks Daysie but i still don’t understand if my ESA will be taken off me because my employers have given me 2 days holiday pay .I am on sick and do have a sick note till jan 26th but am i allowed to use holidays up to boost my ESA ?Thanks ,its a bit complicated to understand xxx
I think the point is that they are making you take holiday (or be paid in lieu) when you told them not to, since in reality you are still off sick. Surely this should not have happened? The money you got as holiday pay is not right, you should be able to carry that holiday entitlement forward to next year or until the sickness runs out, ie. you get better - well enough to be at work, in order to be well enough to enjoy your holiday - when you will then be needing all the time off you can get, just to stay working the other weeks!
So I think someone in the [work] pay office has made a mistake against you: You asked them not to pay you, you wanted to save your hols for later, but they did anyway? That needs sorting.
In my last job you were not *allowed* to take holiday when you were actually off sick, in case they had an emergency and needed to recall you: They had to know who could actually be able to come in. This did create problems, mostly for the manager and the rest of the team, when people came back from long term sick and then promptly had to go take their holidays before the end of the year, but that’s exactly why it was taken to the european court. Insisting on the right to carrry leave forward or be paid in lieu at that point, protects you from being forced in this way, and it also means if you do have to be paid eventually, it comes through in the following tax year. That way if you have droppped off sick pay and only getting ESA/JSA etc by then, you get to keep more of it because you pay a lot less tax.
The other problem is this: If you use up your holiday entitlement now and you do get back in January, how long will you have to work through without any break until you next get time off? What are your chances of managing that without going off sick again?
We were expected to use some of our outstanding leave if we wanted to slow down a phased return behind what occupational health had scheduled, or we had the option to go off sick again, which basically proved that occy health had expected us to get back too soon. Only you know how you feel.
Sorry I can’t help you with the ESA, I was too fit to fail the medical and I never got it. Wishing you loads of luck - have you a union rep who can help you? Macmillan benefits advisers are very good too if you give them a call.
I don’t quite understand though, Lisha - are you saying you are getting ESA and holiday pay for the same days? I don’t think you can do that.
Yes hymil,thats what i am afraid of i am recieving ESA every fortnight, just got my first payment. My worry is that work have paid me holidays too which i think must have been a misunderstanding as i wanted to keep them for my phased return to work. Im afraid i will get my ESA taken off me. We also get paid bank hols when on sick and i dont know if all these hols will go as an income. I dont want to do anything wrong. Thanks for your replies xx
Hi Lisha
if you’re concerned about ESA i’d advise calling the ESA helpline, they should be able to advise you as to whether ESA is affected by the holiday pay
i’d also put your concerns in writing to your employer, they shouldn’t just pay you holiday whilst you’re off sick because it suits them
Good luck
Gill x