House of Lords to Decide Upon Issue of Sickness Leave
The House of Lords is all set to pronounce its landmark judgment on the issue of holidays and sickness leave in the case of Stringer v. HMRC. The case arose out of the grievance of an ex-employee of HMRC, who was not allowed to avail of annual leave during his period of sick leave, and three others, whose services were terminated during their sick leave and who were not paid in lieu of the holidays that they had not availed of, on the ground that they were on sick leave.
This case is long due for judgment after the European Court of Justice overruled the opinions of the Employment Tribunal as well as the Court of Appeal and pointed out that the law in the UK on this point was flawed.
The basic question in the case is whether or not a worker is entitled to accumulate annual leave, when he is already on sick leave and if he is allowed to do so, whether the leave can be taken during the sickness absence itself.
The European Court of Justice had held that workers accrue an annual holiday of four weeks every year, throughout the absence period in case of sickness, and that they can be allowed to take this holiday on returning to work. It also held that if the service of the workers is terminated in the meantime, they shall be paid in lieu of their outstanding annual leave.
The ECJ also opined that it is solely upon the employers to decide upon the treatment of additional holidays given under the regulations as well as other contractual holidays. However, this decision must be clearly stated in the sickness, maternity or absence policies. The CIPD Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice provides a firm foundation in all the areas of HR and employment law, click on CPP courses for more info.
The main difference between the opinions of the ECJ and that of
