Looking for some advice please

bigron2109

Hi

I'm just looking for some advice please. My situation is as follows, I have been off sick from my job since march . The company having been paying me while out sick. I have since decided to leave the company due to illness.

Now I was told from the citizens advice that I am still entitled to my holidays while out sick , and that when I leave the company this money should be paid to me.

I handed in my notice and I got a letter from the company stating that they are only paying me my holidays from January to March and will not be paying me any holidays from March to Septmeber while out sick.

Is this correct or am I entitled to those holidays?

Sorry for the long winded post .

tatli_lokma

Are you a public or private sector worker?

There was a European ruling that stated that those on long term sick leave continue to accrue annual leave. However the gray area is that it is only enforceable in the public sector. You could challenge it based on the European ruling, but that would possibly be able long and expensive process and possibly without any positive outcome for you.

tatli_lokma

FYI here's what citizens information says about long term sick leave and accruals of annual leave:

Long-term sick leave and annual leave

In 2009 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in case C-350/06 that a worker who is on long-term sick leave during the leave year does not lose the right to annual leave. The ECJ ruling states that employees who have not worked during the leave year because they are on sick leave, are entitled to their statutory annual leave for that year. According to this ruling workers are entitled to accumulate annual leave while on sick leave.Many employers insist that you take your annual leave by a particular date, for example, the end of the calendar year. This ECJ ruling also applies to a worker who was on sick leave immediately before leaving the employment. This means that the worker would be entitled either to carry over, or receive payment for, annual leave which was not taken because the worker was on sick leave.The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 states that the employee’s entitlement to annual leave is based on hours actually worked. Until this legislation is amended this ECJ ruling that an employee can accrue annual leave while on sick leave is not enforceable by employees in the private sector. However under the principle of ‘direct effect’ it does apply to the public sector and therefore workers in the public sector can accrue annual leave when they are off work on sick leave.

bigron2109

I'm in the Private sector. I have read up on the Citizens advice website, and Going by that and what you posted above,i think i am entitled to it.

tatli_lokma

bigron2109 wrote: »

I'm in the Private sector. I have read up on the Citizens advice website, and Going by that and what you posted above,i think i am entitled to it.

You need to read it again then. You don't have an automatic entitlement to it. There is a discrepancy between the organisation of working time act and the EU directive. Until that discrepancy is resolved there is no 'entitlement'. It cannot be enforced in the private sector. The only way you will get it is if you challenge it. If that's what you intend to do you will need legal advice and guidance will probably take a long time to be resolved one way or the other. And if a new employer heard about this may be reluctant to hire you

Also you have been on sick leave for a long time and getting paid. That in itself could be a concern for new employers so you will rely upon good references to get a new position. You need to bear that in mind when making any decisions.

bigron2109

Cheers for all the advice. I think i will just take my medicine and leave it.

allibastor

To be fair, your company sounded like it treated you well during the sickness, so I dont think it is worth rocking the boat too much over a few extra days.