Watch our short video on sick whilst on holiday for more detail
Employees can take back the holiday for later
They must provide adequate proof
Make sure you have a policy
Over the past few years there’s been a big increase in people claiming to be ill whilst on holiday. It’s mainly so they can get compensation from travel firms. If one of your employees says they’re off sick during the time they’re off, precedent says that they should be permitted to take these hours at a later date.
If there’s not enough time left to take them in the holiday year, they can carry them forward to next year, or request to be paid in lieu.
So how can you make sure the illness is genuine?
Well, there are some rules.
The employee has to follow your absence reporting procedure and notify you accordingly, and they must submit a doctor’s note to cover their absence, which they have to foot the charge for if one’s incurred.
It’s really important that you have a policy that explains what your employees must do if they’re sick whilst on holiday and how they’ll be allowed to take that time in future, and how you’ll deal with any abuse of the policy, i.e. through your disciplinary process.
You also need to make sure you keep accurate holiday and sickness records so you can notice any patterns occurring.
Do you have questions about sick whilst on holiday?
Give us a call at CUBE HR, we’ll be happy to advise you and we have policies and templates available to meet every HR need.
Why not check out our other blog on the same topic Saying No To Holiday Requests – 3 Things You Need to Know
You can also watch a range of other videos on our YouTube channel
