A few years ago I went on a holiday to Egypt. We had a
wonderful time enjoying the hot weather, spending time relaxing on the beach or
by the pool, seeing the sights and going diving. The only slight downside to
this trip away was that, to put it delicately, I had some tummy troubles for
the first few days. I was still able to enjoy myself but I had to ensure that I
was not too far away from the nearest WC.
Arguably the above scenario is not uncommon for many
holidaymakers; however, these symptoms potentially could be classed as sickness
and that if this happened again I could claim that I should be entitled to retake
my annual leave at another time.
You could probably argue that my upset stomach was
partially self inflicted in that I went to Egypt where the heat
combined with the change in food/water meant that it was much more likely that
I would pick up some form of bug. So in the future could employers decide that under
their contracts of employment employees should be required to avoid certain destinations
or types of holiday e.g. skiing, snowboarding or diving?
It also raises the question as to what happens if the employer only pays SSP and the employee declares that they they were off sick and want to re-take their annual leave at another time. Can the employer recoup the holiday monies that may have already been paid to the employee? Also how much time can elapse between the employee being ill while on leave before they tell their employer. Should they tell the employer on the day that they are sick as they are often required to do so under their contract of employment or can they wait until their return from leave?
It also raises the question as to what happens if the employer only pays SSP and the employee declares that they they were off sick and want to re-take their annual leave at another time. Can the employer recoup the holiday monies that may have already been paid to the employee? Also how much time can elapse between the employee being ill while on leave before they tell their employer. Should they tell the employer on the day that they are sick as they are often required to do so under their contract of employment or can they wait until their return from leave?
What is probably not in question is that this ruling means
that a further burden will be placed on employers. The costs of
complying with this obligation will probably outweigh the savings for employers
that may have been made by the increasing of the length of service required to make a claim of unfair dismissal and the proposed changes contained within the
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.
I am not aware of any ministers criticising the ruling and
the resulting consequences for employers. There have been no promises to try
and change the law at European level, probably because in the EU it is easier
for laws to be created than for them to be repealed. What this ruling shows is
that the government’s promise to reduce red tape for employers is perhaps one
that they will struggle to keep.
This is a great article. You have touched on some really interesting points. Vertex Law
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