If an employee goes on holidays abroad when on sick leave, do you have to pay them for this annual leave if you do not pay sick leave?

Under the Organization of Working Time Act 1997 employees are entitled to a minimum number of paid annual leave days each year. If the employee informed the employer that he/she intended to cease using sick leave and use part some of his/her annual leave, then he/she is entitled to be paid for such days, provided that he/she has not exhausted his/her annual leave entitlement.

If an employee is asserting that he/she is sick, and instead goes on holidays, this may amount to improper use of sick leave; this may be a disciplinary matter. The Company’s sick leave policy should be reviewed in this regard.