Posted on 06/21/2012 11:11:23 AM PDT by Olog-hai
Workers who fall sick during their annual leave are entitled to take corresponding paid leave at a later date, the EU's top court has ruled.
The European Court of Justice ruling is legally binding throughout the EU.
Thursday's ruling was prompted by a Spanish trade union case against a group of department stores.
"The right to paid annual leave cannot be interpreted restrictively," the court says. The UK does not have an opt-out in this area of EU labor law.
The court in Luxembourg said the EU Working Time Directive grants workers a right to at least four weeks' paid annual leave "even where such leave coincides with periods of sick leave".
The ECJ says "(T)he point at which the temporary incapacity arose is irrelevant. Consequently, a worker is entitled to take paid annual leave, which coincides with a period of sick leave, at a later point in time, irrespective of the point at which the incapacity for work arose." …
A EU source told the BBC that the ECJ ruling has full, immediate effect EU-wide, regardless of the type or size of employer.
Workers who believe their employer has infringed their right to paid annual leave can seek justice in their national courts.
Infringement cases against employers who violate the directive can also be brought by the European Commission or national governments.
Commenting on Thursday's ruling the Confederation of British Industry said that "as a result of earlier ECJ judgments, this change has already happened in the UK, bringing along headaches for employers". …
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
These people are just delusional. It’s like there’s this big imaginary bottomless pot of money, and the highest manifestation of statesmanship is just to hand it out.
I’m going to miss Western Civilization.
Ahhh, isn’t that special.
I just read your post aloud to a coworker and we got a big laugh.
(I, too, am going to miss Western Civilization.)
Cough, cough! Boss, I’m too sick to enjoy my vacation on the Riviera, so I’m going to have to convert a couple of vacation days into sick days.
Ha! Just what I needed is another reason to not be able to get ahold of my EU counterpart! It seems like there is always a “holiday” that keeps them out of the office.
I have to admit that I have a good one now, but in general getting ahold of them is very difficult...
Our company (and I’d suspect most of those in America) do not give separate sick leave days. You accumulate PTO by showing up for work regularly. If you get sick, you use PTO. If you run out of PTO, then you can apply for unpaid time off. This rarely happens as we are expected to bank PTO to use when needed.
The word “holiday” is derived from “holy day”. I personally found “vacation” to be a more honest descriptor. I sure would like to know how they expect to stay in business if they remain out of the office for so long . . .
If you know anyone who has ever tried to do business in these countries, the laws about how you have to handle your employees drive them absolutely batty. (Canada’s six weeks of Paternity Leave seem to be a particular sore spot with most of them).
Calling in sick while you are on vacation? Boggles the mind. Unless you have to vacation with some in-laws, in which case I can understand it completely.
[dirty little secret] the reason we aren’t living this nightmare is that 80% of our population has absolutely no idea what kind of paid vacation and leave benefits they have in these countries.
If they did they’d all go running to their Dummycrap Congressman demanding same, and we’d all be in the same boat before long.
“These people are just delusional. It’s like there’s this big imaginary bottomless pot of money, and the highest manifestation of statesmanship is just to hand it out.”
And just how is this any different than the PE unions here in this country? This isn’t a European problem, it’s a worldwide problem. These bastards don’t care (or probably even realize) that the public coffers are empty. They just continue to want what they want irrespective of this fact!
My company here allows this.
That was the way it was with my last employer. And I barely got to use any time that wasn't sick leave (too much work to be done).
If you get sick on the weekend or a holiday, can you claim sick time?
You think Canada’s bad? My company has offices in Russia. We’ve had a “team member” who’s been on maternity leave FOR 4 YEARS. We have to hold her spot open just in case she decides to return.
It’s sickening.
My comp leave was at 518 hours before I took my wedding anniversary vacation. It's down to 487 now. I accrue 3.69 hours per 40 hours worked.
Twenty six years ago, I received a phone call from my boss.
He was 3 or 4 days into his vacation and was calling in sick. I’d never heard of the practice before, but the company I worked for at the time allowed it and he got comp time.
None of the companies I’ve worked for since recognize the practice.
Scary is that these same EU people also believe in Globalization, Regionalization, Free Trade, Bank Bailouts, and, of course, Socialism
And people on this side of the world still want to emulate the EU. Gosh, I think I will sleep in front of the local Greek restaurant tonite for practice
“He was 3 or 4 days into his vacation and was calling in sick. I’d never heard of the practice before, but the company I worked for at the time allowed it and he got comp time.
None of the companies I’ve worked for since recognize the practice.”
It would not bother me one bit if each company got to decide the policy, it’s when it’s mandated by law that it becomes a big problem. Europe is doomed.
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