Overview

In the long-awaited case of Stringer, handed down on 20 January, 2009, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified the operation of the EC Working Time Directive (EWTD) in relation to whether workers are entitled to annual leave while they are on sick leave.

The ECJ held that the EWTD requires that workers continue to accrue paid statutory annual leave while they are on sick leave, and cannot be denied the opportunity to take that annual leave (whether by taking it once they return to work, or by being paid in lieu if their employment ends while they are off sick).

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