SICKNESS AND HOLIDAY

Do workers have the right to carry over statutory minimum annual holiday from one leave year to the next when they have been unable to take leave due to sickness?

It may seem a simple question but unfortunately it is anything but, as XpertHR's head of content Jo Stubbs explains in this month's Outlook video.

Until fairly recently the answer would indeed have been easy enough. The Working Time Regulations 1998 are very clear that the first four weeks of statutory minimum annual leave are to be taken in the leave year in which they are due and may not be carried over.

However, this position has been thrown into question by decisions of the European Court of Justice in the Stringer and Pereda cases. In the latter case, for example, the ECJ held that the Working Time Directive provides a right to take statutory minimum annual leave at a time other than that originally scheduled following a period of sickness absence.

The Working Time Regulations, which transpose the Directive into UK law, will have to be amended to give effect to the ECJ's rulings. In the meantime, employment tribunals have begun taking these rulings into account in their own decisions.

In Shah v First West Yorkshire Limited, the employment tribunal ruled that the Working Time Regulations 1998 could be interpreted so as to give effect to Pereda, meaning that the employer's refusal to allow the employee to retake - in a new leave year - a period of holiday affected by a broken ankle was a breach of the Regulations.

What does all of this mean for employers and HR? As well as an explanation of the current legal position, our video includes some practical suggestions.

David Shepherd, Editor

Outlook video

Sickness and holiday
XpertHR's head of content Jo Stubbs and group editor David Shepherd ask whether or not workers have the right to carry over statutory minimum annual leave where they have been unable to take leave due to sickness.

Research request

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Health and safety

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Employment intelligence: from the blog

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Save £50 on working with trade unions masterclass and conference
XpertHR subscribers are entitled to a £50 discount per delegate on the IRS working with trade unions masterclass and conference on 16 and 17 June 2010.