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ARTICLE · 22 JANUARY 2016

Employment Law Update: Accruing Annual Leave While On Long Term Sick Leave

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP
Mason Hayes & Curran LLP
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Mason Hayes & Curran LLP

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP

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The traditional position under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, (the "OWTA") was that an employee's entitlement to annual leave accrued based on the amount of time the employee actually worked.

IrelandEmployment and HR
Melanie Crowley
Melanie Crowley
Orla O’Leary
Orla O’Leary
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The Background

The traditional position under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, (the “OWTA”) was that an employee’s entitlement to annual leave accrued based on the amount of time the employee actually worked. Consequently, annual leave did not accrue during periods of sickness absence. However, in 20091, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) held that employees on sick leave did not have an opportunity to take their annual leave. As such, they were entitled to take it after their sickness absence had ended.

The New Position

The on-going and somewhat confusing contradiction between the OWTA and the rulings of the CJEU was finally clarified by the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 (the “2015 Act”). The 2015 Act officially amended the OWTA and from 1 August 2015  employees are entitled to: 

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