In a recent Finnish case, TSN v Hyvinvointialan, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that where employees are unable to take their full holiday entitlement due to sickness, employers only need to allow employees to carry over a maximum 4 weeks holiday.
Although the minimum holiday entitlement in the UK is 5.6 weeks, the Working Time Regulations sets the minimum entitlement at 4 weeks and the question posed to the ECJ was whether national laws preventing carry-over of more than 4 weeks’ leave were permissible.
The outcome of this case shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it essentially confirms the decision of the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Sood Enterprises v Healey. The decision was that unless there is an agreement to allow a worker to carry forward any additional entitlement, workers will only be entitled to accrue and carry forward 4 weeks holiday.
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