Summary Sentence:

The Respondent’s payment of €4,559, or 6.7 weeks’ pay, to the Complainant for annual leave the Complainant accrued during his sick leave was sufficient to meet the Respondent’s legal obligations to the Complainant.

Background:

The Complainant was hired by the Respondent in May 2008. In July 2021 the Complainant became seriously ill and was placed on the Respondent’s sick pay scheme which lasted for an extended period of sixteen weeks, during which time the Complainant received compensation. After this period, the Complainant was on unpaid long-term illness leave. The Complainant was on sick leave for a total period of 86 weeks, or 20 months, and resigned his employment in May 2023, with the employment ending on 4 July 2023. The Complainant alleged that he was not fully paid in lieu of his accrued annual leave entitlements when he terminated his employment after his illness, having regard to his entitlement to continue accruing annual leave entitlements during such sick leave (even if he was not in receipt of compensation during such a period). The Respondent did not dispute its obligation to provide such payment in lieu of annual leave at the termination of the Complainant’s employment, but said that it had calculated that payment accurately and in fact may have overpaid the Complainant.

A fact in dispute between the parties appeared to be that the Complainant’s entitlement to annual leave decreased from 22 days per annum while not on sick leave to the statutory 20 days annual leave while on sick leave. The Adjudication Officer also considered the statutory leave year under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which is from 1st April to 31st March each year, and the entitlement to “carry over” leave accrued up to a maximum of 15 months after the end of a leave year when unable to take such leave due to illness.

Outcome:

After having careful regard to the payslips provided by the Complainant and the calculations given by the Respondent, the Adjudication Officer found that the Respondent had met its statutory obligations under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 to pay the Complainant in lieu of accrued annual leave, subject to the maximums provided under the Act. The Complainant’s additional complaint that he did not receive his entitlement to statutory sick leave under the Sick Leave Act 2022 also failed, as he benefited from a sick leave scheme that was, as a whole, more beneficial to him than statutory sick leave.

Practical Guidance for Employers:

Employees continue to accrue paid annual leave entitlements even when they are on unpaid sick leave, and those entitlements must be compensated if that employment ends.

The full case is here:
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2024/april/adj-00047574.html