The holiday rights of workers who fall ill while on holiday, or
are absent on long term sick leave, have been extended further by
two recent rulings.
Rights of Workers Who Fall Ill While on Holiday
It was already possible for a worker, who became sick before the
start of a scheduled holiday, to recategorise the holiday as sick
leave and take the holiday at a later date. In certain
circumstances, the worker could even elect to take the
recategorised holiday in the next holiday year.
The Court of Justice of the European Community (CJEU) has
clarified that a worker who falls ill while on holiday can also now
do this.
The CJEU considered that it would be arbitrary, and contrary to
the stated objective of holiday (i.e., allowing a period
of rest, relaxation and leisure), if workers who fell ill while
already on holiday were denied the right to recategorise in this
way simply because the onset of the illness occurred during, rather
than before, the period of leave.
