Workers on long-term sick leave are entitled to paid holidays, one of Europe’s highest courts ruled today.
In a decision that clarifies the law after years of confusion, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that all workers are entitled to up to four weeks of holiday pay for each year they are on sick leave.
However, lawyers warned that the ruling could be extremely costly for businesses at a time when they are already struggling to fulfil their existing obligations to employees.
In the ruling, the ECJ said: “A worker does not lose his right to paid annual leave which he has been unable to exercise because of sickness. He must be compensated for his annual leave not taken.”
The decision means that a worker returning from one year’s sick leave will be entitled to four weeks paid holiday banked from the previous year in addition to any holidays they are entitled to for the year ahead.
It also means that an employee who quits or loses their job while on sick leave is entitled to a lump sum payment in lieu of holidays accrued but not taken while they were sick, on top of any redundancy or termination payment