European court:A worker who becomes ill while on paid annual leave is entitled to claim back, at a later date, the time he or she was sick, according to a ruling from the European Court of Justice this week.
The ruling followed a case taken to the Spanish supreme court by a group of Spanish trade unions under the 2003 Working Time Directive.
The Spanish court referred to the European court a question on the interpretation of the leave provisions of the directive.
This week the Luxembourg court ruled it was irrelevant at what point an illness arises. It said entitlement to paid annual leave must be regarded as a particularly important principle of EU social law, which is expressly enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
– CAROL COULTER