NewsThe European elections are approaching

An employee who, because of illness, could take vacation during the period of leave taken does not lose his rights.

News

The European elections are approaching. It is too early to know if the French plan to be more frequent in the polls in the past. For those who continue to not feel concerned, it may be interesting to show them that Europe slips in their lives on concerns that are macroeconomic.

The point of view of the judges

Last month, the Court of justice of the European Communities (ECJ) rendered two judgments on the same problem. One was one British dispute, the other a German dispute, and the decision brings to the French right precision that the Court of cassation had not yet had the opportunity to provide litigants.

The question is the impact of a disease extended paid leave. In France, the legislation establishes two periods for annual leave. First, the reference period, which is the one in which an employee acquires rights and that starts June 1 of each year ending May 31 next year. then, the period of paid holidays taken, which shall be fixed by collective agreement or by decision of the employer after consultation of the Committee of company and staff delegates, if there is. This second period has varied, the "short" design solutions when the firm company, up to long cycles that can even exceed twelve months.

The question of the impact of a stoppage of work coinciding with the paid leave arose since the creation of annual leave. The Court of cassation has established several rules: first point, applying the chronological rule, if the disease before discharge, the disease stop bonus. Paid leave does not start until the employee is arrested. The reverse is true: If an employee falls ill while he went on vacation, leave will not stop, it cannot support that the disease has suspended his leave and later claim (Cass. Soc., March 18, 1975).

When the leave could be taken due to illness is triggered before the date set for the holidays, the solution is simple if healing occurs while the period of leave taken is always open: the employer must allocate new dates (Cass. Soc.,. 4 Dec 1996). Where the problem is Corsica, is when the employee recovers after closure of the period.

Until recently, it was acquired in jurisprudence that the employee was losing its rights (Cass. Soc., 7 Jul. 1988; 20 March 1998). However, based on the directive of the European Union of 4 November 2003, the Court of cassation had changed its position, but only in favour of the employees arrested for cause of occupational disease or accident work (Cass. Soc., 27 sept. 2007).

Commentators had then thought that it is clear to extend this rule to cases of non-occupational disease as soon as she would have the opportunity. The two judgments of the ECJ (20 Jan. 2009, aff.) C-350/06 and C-520/06) to leave more choice and to confirm that it should go in this direction.

Consequences for the company

Employers must apply the European rule without waiting for the Court of cassation write it black and white: an employee prevented by illness vacation must be able to leave later, whatever the date on which his recovery takes place. It is mostly in business practice the Annual closing for holidays that this jurisprudence will pose difficulties: it will require that employers incorporate in their plans the need for free, outside the official dates of holidays, employees who were ill at the time of the closure.