So the summer is almost finished and the summer Holiday Pay frenzy is over for another year but recently there has been a case with the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) regarding holiday pay and sick leave that you should all be aware of.

The issues raised in the case of Plumb v Duncan Print Group Ltd dealt with the accrual and payment of holiday pay whilst on sick leave.

In this case the employee had been on sick leave from April 2010 until the termination of their contract in February 2014. They did not request to take any annual leave for 3 years until the summer of 2013 when they then requested all accrued leave since 2010. The employer agreed to pay leave for the current leave period 2013/14 but not before.

The employee raised a claim for payment of all untaken leave for the previous years, 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13.

The EAT allowed the appeal for the leave year 2012/13 but not the other 2.

The outcome of the appeal clarified by the EAT is that

  • Employees do not need to be unable to take annual leave, they can simply choose not to request it
  • Holiday Pay can only be carried over for 18 months after the end of the current holiday year
  • Holiday Pay that can be carried over only applies to the 20 days provided by Regulation 13 of the Working Time Regulations and not the additional 8 days under Regulation 13ASo, for now at least, employers have an idea of how much holiday pay can be accrued by an employee who is on sick leave.

So, for now at least, employers have an idea of how much holiday pay can be accrued by an employee who is on sick leave.

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