The ruling hinged on the case of Francisco Pereda, a Madrid council worker, who took legal action against his employer after being refused the right to alter his leave arrangements because of an injury suffered just before he was due to go on holiday.
The European court of justice in Luxembourg ruled in favour of Pereda, stating that he should have been able to alter his holiday arrangements and given the option to postpone his leave and add it to his entitlement for the following year.
Employment law experts said there was a chance the result could be interpreted as giving workers the right to claim extra holiday time even if they have been taken ill after their leave has begun.
"The danger of abuse is clear – an employee could increase his or her holiday entitlement by ensuring that in most years they alleged they were sick while on holiday," said Owen Warnock, a partner at law firm Eversheds.
He said most employers currently took the attitude that it is "bad luck" for employees if they fall ill while on holiday.
Ben Wilmott, senior public policy adviser at the CIPD, described the judgment as "extremely disturbing", adding that "It may be logical for lawyers, but it is a ruling completely divorced from the real world."
The ruling is effectively a reinterpretation of the European working time directive, which already applies across the UK.
It does not specify at what point the employee should notify the employer of injuries sustained, or what proof would be necessary. But the wording of the judgment states that if a "worker does not wish to take annual leave during a period of sick leave, annual leave must be granted to him for a different period".
Sophie Kummer, of the FSB said "[The ruling] is something that could be highly detrimental to small businesses, especially with the extra administration costs and so on. We'll see how it plays out in the UK, but it could be a serious business for our members."
Wilmott added that, as a consequence of the ruling, employers could be forced to review relatively generous occupational sick pay schemes and consider opting for statutory sick pay schemes instead.
"If ever there was a case of the law of unintended consequences, this could be it," he said."
(The Guardian, Tuesday 15th of September 2009)
Eu nasci para reclamar. Mas para reclamar a sério (!) de e-mail indignado, ou carta à direcção. Depois sinto-me mal, é claro... Se calhar não devia ser dada a tanta reclamação. “Tens demasiado tempo livre” dizem-me alguns... Mas afinal de contas sempre me disseram que era o meu direito!
Nos últimos três meses já declarei guerra ao Millennium BCP, à Eurosport, e ao Jornal i. E hoje foi mais uma a wook.pt! Mas tudo com motivos! É que, e em minha defesa, eu estou convencida de que se não reclamarmos é que as coisas nunca mais vão ser feitas. Se ninguém lhes disser nada, vão com certeza ficar convencidos de que fizeram mais um bom trabalho. Ora, eu não os quero equivocados! Em nome da dissolução de todos esses equívocos, venho então apelar a que se reclame quando não se está satisfeito.
Não gosto de me sentir sozinha neste mundo de reclamações civilizadas! É que já que não vou estar em Portugal para fazer valer o meu voto, faço ao menos valer a minha reclamação!
