News - Column for Granite Times – Lili Hunter
22/02/09
The idea of employees accruing holiday entitlement whilst off on sick leave may cause headaches for employers, but recent events in court are backing the position of the employee.
Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice ruled that workers accrue holidays during sick leave, even if they are off for the entire holiday year, and that they must be allowed to take these holidays or be paid in lieu of them when they get back to work.
But this conflicts with the Working Time Regulations (WTR’s) of 1998 which state that holidays have to be taken in the year of entitlement otherwise they will be lost. The WTRs also state that holidays will only be paid in lieu when employment is terminated.
However, the House of Lords has now decided that the European Court’s decision doesn’t override the Working Time Regulations so they must be amended by parliament in order to be interpreted consistently with the Working Time Directive. It also decided that claims for pay in lieu of holidays could be brought under unfair deduction of wages legislation.
This is a significant decision because claims under the Working Time Regulations must be brought within three months but a claim of unfair deduction of wages can extend much further back, if the deductions are ongoing.
Watch this space!