![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/BK201505.jpg)
Falling ill when on holiday
[ch 4: pages 108-109]A worker who falls ill either while on holiday or before starting a pre-booked holiday is entitled to reschedule that leave to take at a later date, if necessary during the next leave year. However, this only applies in the case of the four weeks of holiday under the Working Time Directive. An employer can refuse particular holiday dates but must allow leave to be carried forward into the next holiday year if it cannot accommodate the worker’s request. This was established in the following case:
A work accident meant that Mr Pereda was ill for all but two days of his one month long summer holiday. When his employer refused to let him re-book his holiday to take later in the year, he brought a successful claim. The ECJ decided that Pereda must be allowed to carry his holiday forward to a time when he was fit enough to use it. This is because the purpose of sick leave (recovering from being ill) is different from that of annual holiday (enjoying rest).
Pereda v Madrid Movilidad SA [2009] IRLR 959
The SSP rules under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 say that sickness during a holiday inside the European Union qualifies for SSP as long as the employee has a medical certificate. See page 204 for more information about SSP.
The treatment of holiday for workers who are on maternity leave is explained on page 237.