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Falling ill when on holiday
[ch 4: pages 123-124]A worker who falls ill either during their four weeks’ statutory holiday, or before starting a pre-booked statutory holiday under the Working Time Directive, must be allowed to reschedule that holiday to a later date, if necessary during the next leave year. 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 European Union law 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 Chapter 8 for more information about SSP.
The treatment of holiday for workers who are on maternity leave is explained on page 296.