Reimbursement of annual holidays when off sick

[KIP1]

Good Evening All, I was wondering if someone can advise me of the position under statutory Employment Law, when an employee becomes too I'll to work and is absent over a period of approved leave, is the company obliged to reimburse the leave to the annual entitlement? I have a Union member who was absent in this way and the company is refusing to reimburse the leave. It is not a great amount, 3 days to be precise, but the member is now back at work and needs the days leave to attend consultant's appointments with his wife who is now unwell. The company paid him basic salary while he was off, as it was due to a work related incident, and are now I suspect trying to recoup some of their losses. Any advice please?

K1

[ULA]

1. You need to check the company sickness policy.

2. Was the person already off sick when their holiday was due and did they discuss this with their employer at the time?

3. If they went off sick whilst on holiday then they should have reported their sickness to their employer in the normal way, as if they has been working and discuss reverting their holiday to sick leave. This should include providing a self-certification form or a Fitness to Work note as applicable.

[KIP1]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

1 Company sick policy says pre-booked leave will be reimbursed if employee is taken ill before the start of the leave and a Dr"s note submitted (which it was)

2. They were already off before the leave started, and afterwards when it finished. They were in regular talks with the employer throughout the absence, but not sure if this was discussed as it is normally reimbursed as a matter of course.

3. The employee followed the correct sickness reporting procedure and submitted sick notes on time.

[ULA]

If your point one is not caveated with "at management discretion" then if the individual was off sick before the start of their pre-booked leave and the Fitness for Work note submitted covering the period of the holiday then, in my opinion, they should be reimbursed their holiday.

[KIP1]

Hi, thanks again for your assistance, I can advise my colleague on this basis.