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New Ruling by the European Court of Justice

In Sickness and in Health

Following the recent landmark judgment by the European Court of Justice, employees who fall ill during their annual leave could now claim back time lost. Under the new terms, employees could even be allowed to carry any annual leave ruined by illness over into the following year.

Leading employment lawyers are warning that this will be costly for businesses and that it leaves "the door open for abuse" by dishonest employees seeking to boost their holiday entitlement by simply claiming to have a cold or flu while on leave.

In light of this ruling, and the second bout of Swine Flu that’s looming over our workforces, we’ve put together a quick checklist of points to be considered for your working practices – so you can lessen the impact these changes make on your business.

In particular, there are 4 key areas that you’ll need to consider, which are:

Reporting

• How will employees report their sickness absence whilst on annual leave?

Evidence

• What if the sickness is self-inflicted and how can this be established?
• How will you verify the claimed sickness and what medical evidence will you require from your employees?
• Will this be at their own expense or will the company cover any incurred expenses?

Pay

• Should sick leave be at full pay or limited to Statutory Sick Pay?

Replacement holiday

• When should the replacement leave be taken?
• Will you want to specify when the replacement leave can be taken?
• How will you manage carrying over annual leave into the next holiday year?

So... if you haven’t already reviewed your policies and practices to reflect the new ruling, it’s not too late to put something in place before the winter colds and flus arrive.