**A new legal ruling on sick leave and holidays could allow unscrupulous workers to cheat their bosses, says the CBI employers’ group.**The European Court of Justice decision means workers taken ill on holiday could claim time back as sick leave.
But the CBI said the judgement was “open to abuse” by employees who might see it as an easy way of increasing their holiday entitlement.
The ruling stems from a case brought by a Spaniard working for Madrid council.
The employee, Francisco Pereda, began his legal battle two years ago, after being refused the right to reschedule his summer holiday because of an injury he had recently suffered.
The court in Luxembourg decided that under the EU’s Working Time Directive, he should have been allowed to change his holiday dates and could not be forced “to take annual leave during a period of sick leave”.
Lawyers examining the ruling said it could make it possible for workers already on holiday to phone in as unwell - in effect, giving them extra time off.
Katja Hall of the CBI said: “Many firms already take a common-sense and sympathetic approach. But allowing employees to reclassify their holiday as sick leave opens the door to abuse.”
The EU judgement comes as lawyers are still analysing the implications of another decision on a related issue made by the House of Lords earlier this year.
Three months ago, the Law Lords found in favour of a group of former UK Customs staff, ruling that workers who were on long-term sick leave could, in certain circumstances, accumulate holiday time and even carry it forward, rather than losing it at the end of the year.