Changes to the Working Time Regulations will mean workers who fall ill on holiday will be entitled to extra time off in compensation. Do you agree with this?The unfortunate coincidence of being struck down by illness the day before your holiday is a frustration known to many. You're a picture of health all year round, then the moment your holiday arrives you succumb to flu or more seriously fracture or break a bone.Up until now, holidays sabotaged by illness have had to be treated as an unfortunate coincidence. But not for much longer, as controversial changes to the Working Time Regulations are expected in October. It will mean workers who become ill during their holidays will be legally entitled to take extra time off to compensate them, provided they produce a doctor's note to prove their illness. In other words, employers will automatically have to assume responsibility for the fact your sick days while on holiday don't amount to "actual rest". And you will also be able to carry forward to the following year holiday you have not been able to take due to your sickness.The government is hardly pleased at having to pile further regulation on to cash-strapped businesses, but the implementation is necessary following a number of European legal judgments stretching back three years. Not least was a European court of justice ruling in Luxembourg in 2009 (Pereda v Madrid Movilidad) involving a Spanish road worker who fell ill just before he was due to take two weeks off work and his employer refused permission to change his holiday.The court ruled that a worker on holiday was entitled to "actual rest" with a view to ensuring effective protection of their health and safety. The right to claim extra holiday time if your sickness coincided with your time off has, in fact, existed since this landmark ruling. The difference is that prior to the forthcoming implementation of the right into UK law you would have had to go to court to enforce that right, relying on European case law to support your claim. From October the right will be automatically imposed on employers under UK law.But are the proposals fair? Shouldn't it be the case, as it has always been, that it is tough luck if you happen to fall ill during a holiday period? The changes will inevitably open up opportunities for abuse, and the increased flexibility for employees may leave employers vulnerable to those who see this as an opportunity to stretch their holiday time ? especially if they can fudge an illness and persuade their doctor to provide a sick note.And what if you fall ill while sunning yourself abroad on a palm fringed beach? While you would still need to obtain medical evidence, the impact on the continuing enjoyment of such holidays is going to vary from individual to individual. And that is before your employers try to decipher a foreign sick note.On the other hand, the law can be seen to protect those workers who genuinely fall ill while on holiday without recharging their batteries. Surely a happy and healthy workforce is in the employer's interests?Whether the proposals create a nightmare for companies and provide a new opportunity for the workshy to abuse the system remains to be seen. If you do intend to make a claim for additional holiday time because you are sick, just be careful not to post holiday snaps showing you as a picture of health on Facebook.Do you think these proposals are a good idea? Have you ever fallen ill during holiday time and if so, how did your employer react?? Philip Landau is an employment lawyer at Landau Zeffertt WeirWork & careersEmployment lawPhilip Landauguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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