The privileges of many workers will be decided on by the House of Lords in the much-anticipated ruling of Stringer v. HMRC, which deals with the question of whether or not a worker can continue to accumulate annual leave while on sick leave, and if that question is answered positively, whether that leave can be taken while such worker is on sick leave.

This case has been dragging on for some time and much hinges on its outcome. The case relates to four ex-employees of HMRC, of whom one had tried to take annual leave during his sick leave and was not allowed to do so, and the other three were dismissed when absent on sick leave, without taking any holiday during that period. At termination, they asked for payment in lieu of the leave that they had not availed of. HMRC’s response was that as they had taken sick leave, they were not entitled to the payment.

The Employment Tribunal as well as the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of HMRC, but when the case was brought before the European Court of Justice in January, the ruling went in favour of the employees.

The gist of the ruling is that employees accumulate four weeks of holiday each year, independent of any periods of sick leave, and they must be permitted to avail of this holiday when they return to work. Upon termination of their employment, they become entitled to payment in lieu of this holiday, and employers must decide how to manage the extra holidays given by regulations, in addition to any holidays granted under contract, which must be described in sickness, absence and maternity policies. Employers need to keep themselves up to date with employment relations developments to avoid potential legal action from employers by taking an accredited CIPD course such as the Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice (CERLAP) from Workplace Law Training.

Interpretation of the Regulations in the UK has been restrictive, with workers having to take their holiday each year or lose it, without the option of carrying over unused holidays to the next year. Thus, if they were on sick leave for a whole year, they would not be able to avail of any holidays. The ECJ’s interpretation is far more pro-worker, and in practice would mean that even if a worker is off sick, he shall continue to accrue holidays, which can be taken at any stage after that – even years later.