Entitlement to paid leave

All workers, sick or otherwise, have a statutory right to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (equivalent to 28 days for someone who works a five-day week) under the Working Time Regulations (WTR). Four weeks of that is attributable to the European Working Time Directive (given effect in UK law by regulation 13 of the WTR).

The additional 1.6 weeks’ statutory holiday arise from the UK WTR regulations (regulation 13A). These are a matter of domestic law and represent the number of bank holidays in a year.

Many workers, in unionised workplaces at least, also have a contractual entitlement to further paid leave, so their total leave can be more than 5.6 weeks. What can be done with leave entitlement when a worker falls sick is subject to working time law.