Can An Employer Make You Take Holiday Pay If You Are Sick/in Hospital?

Wu Banger | 14:18 Wed 09th Dec 2015 | Law

9 Answers

I've just left a job and they are withholding some of my accrued holiday to cover when i was in hospital for 3 days.

It wasn't explained to me on my return what the protocol was and i wasn't issued a form for self certification. I should have accrued 9 days holiday in my 4 month period of employment, although they say it was only 8 days! They gave me a week off at the end of my notice which explains 5 days of my holiday but when i questioned about the remaining 3 days, they said because i was in hospital for 3 days (diabetes related) that they were using my 3 days to cover that period.

Are they within their rights to do this? Can i refuse this and still self certificate in hindsight?

Many thanks

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chelle7272

If the company has no sick pay scheme then those days would have been unpaid. So you have already been paid for them, and wont get them again.

hc4361

Did you inform your employer as soon as practicable that you were on sick leave? Had you submitted your self certificate form on your return to work then that leave could not count as holiday leave.
As you failed to do so, it is too late.

All explained here
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4264

Wu Banger

Question Author

I was advised that that your employer cant make you take holiday pay if you are off sick? I would be more happy to self certify and then be paid out for my remaining holiday if that is possible?

hc4361

At the time, did you tell your employer you were off work sick?

Jackdaw33

The chances are you wouldn't have been paid for the first 3 days' sick so you've lost nothing.

hc4361

Jackdaw is right. If the company only pays SSP then the first three days aren't paid.

It's a different matter if the company has it's own sick pay scheme

chelle7272

You wouldn't have been paid for the 3 days unless they have a sick pay scheme which would have paid.
Statutory sick pay is only payable after 3 days. So if you did self cert, they would be unpaid days anyway. So there is no difference.

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