Establish a policy on sickness occurring during or just before a period of holiday

Key points

  • There is some uncertainty over whether or not an employer must permit employees to retake any period of statutory holiday that coincides with sickness.
  • In respect of contractual holiday in excess of the statutory minimum coinciding with sickness, the employer may choose whether or not to grant alternative holiday.
  • In any event, employers should consider adopting a policy on how they will deal with sickness occurring during or just before a period of holiday, as this may prevent disputes at a later date.
  • The policy should, among other things, set out the extent to which an employee will be eligible to take replacement holiday at a later date and what, if any, conditions apply to the rescheduling of holiday in these circumstances.

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