Spain: Sick leave during holidays

The Spanish Supreme Court has declared (in its decision dated 3 October 2012) that an employee on sick leave – when this occurs during his/her holidays or event before those holidays start – is entitled to benefit from his/her holiday period in full, even after the year in which that holiday period accrued.

Act 3/2012 has also introduced a new provision, which expressly provides for scenarios in which sick leave occurs simultaneously with a holiday period. In these cases, employees may benefit from their holidays in full when they return from their sick leave within the 18 months following the end of the year in which the holidays accrued.

The decision follows and defines the criteria already set by the European Court of Justice in its Decision of 10 September 2009 (Pereda) and a decision handed down by the Spanish Supreme Court on 24 June 2009, which had already declared that employees on sick leave during their holidays are entitled to benefit from them in full afterwards.

This recent decision therefore ratifies already established criteria in this regard.