欧盟：年假期间生病可补休

欧盟法院上周裁定，员工休年假期间生病，可在日后获得补休。该裁定在欧盟所有成员国均有法律效力。欧盟工时指导规定，所有员工每年必须享有至少四周的带薪假期。此前，欧盟法院曾出台规定，员工在休年假前生病时可重新安排年假计划，以避免年假和病假重叠。如有雇主侵犯员工享受年假的权利，员工可随其提出诉讼。欧盟法院还规定，如果员工在年底生病而无法休完年假，则可以将年假延后到下一年度使用；长期休病假者，其年假可至少累积一年，各国可对年假累积上限做出具体规定。

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 European Court of Justice says "the 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."

According to an earlier ECJ ruling, workers who fall sick before a period of annual leave can also reschedule that leave period so that it does not clash with their sick leave.

An 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.

The UK's Federation of Small Businesses urged the UK government on Thursday to "avoid implementation of any ECJ ruling on annual leave and sick leave for as long as possible, given the ongoing negotiations by the social partners on the Working Time Directive".

The business group said changing UK law in this area again "would be unhelpful, confusing and add burdens for small businesses, which at this time they can ill afford".

In cases where workers fall sick towards the end of the year, and are unable to take all of their annual leave, they can under EU law carry over their unused leave into the next accounting period.

The ECJ has also ruled that the long-term sick have the right to accumulate at least a year of unused annual leave. But the ECJ says the amount is not open-ended and member states can set an upper limit.