Have the changes to allow annual leave be accrued while on sick leave been introduced yet? There was a talk of the introduction of the new rules in respect of annual leave to take place in July. Is this now changed to October to coincide with the introduction of the rest of the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 2015?

Section 86 (1) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 was commenced on 1 August 2015 by Ministerial Order, which is expected this week. The Workplace Relations Act 2015 has amended the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (the “OWTA”) to allow for the accrual of annual leave during sick leave: http://www.djei.ie/press/2015/20150801.htm 

From 1 August 2015, the OWTA takes account of the 2009 rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) in Schultz-Hoff/Stringer (joined cases C-350/060 and C520/06) in relation to accrual of sick leave. The OWTA now provides that where an employee has been absent from work on certified sick leave, he/she will be deemed to have been