The European Court of Justice has held that carried over holiday for workers unable to take it during the holiday year can be restricted to four weeks.
THE FACTS
Under current law, employers must permit workers who are unable to take their statutory annual holiday entitlement during the holiday year because of sickness absence to carry the holiday over to the next year. However, there has been some doubt at a European level as to whether this requirement applies only to the four week entitlement prescribed by European legislation, or whether this also applies to the enhanced entitlement which some European member states, including Great Britain, prescribe. In Great Britain, following EAT case law, most employers have taken the view that the requirement to carry over only applies to the four week period, rather than the 5.6 week entitlement prescribed by the Working Time Regulations.
The European Court of Justice (the ECJ) has now confirmed that employers are only required to permit four weeks carry-over.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EMPLOYERS?
This is helpful confirmation, and likely to be consistent with the approach already taken by most employers. It is welcome news that unless there is a contractual entitlement to the contrary, employers only need to permit employees who have been absent on sick leave to carry over four weeks of their holiday entitlement. Employers may therefore wish to review their contractual arrangements if these currently provide for a higher amount of carry-over of leave.
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