Next to rain what is the worst thing that could happen to you on vacation? I’m pretty sure that everyone can agree that getting sick is the worst possible thing that can happen to you while on vacation because it is basically time wasted.
Well a Spanish union has just sued and won a decision from the European High Court stating that if someone gets sick while on vacation, they have to have their vacation extended to cover the amount of time they were sick.
“The purpose of entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable the worker to rest and enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure,” the Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, ruled in a case involving department store workers in Spain. “The purpose of entitlement to sick leave is different, since it enables a worker to recover from an illness that has caused him to be unfit for work.”
If you are wondering, this is why the European Union is a breath away from falling apart. They cannot control their debt, they spend more than they have, yet the courts make ruling like this.
The Court of Justice had previously ruled that a person who gets sick before going on vacation is entitled to reschedule the vacation, and on Thursday it said that right extended into the vacation itself. “The point at which the temporary incapacity arose is irrelevant,” the court found. And since Europeans are guaranteed 4-6 weeks of paid leave a year, it extends to through the entire time they are on vacation.
When stuff like this happens, it is no wonder that the European Union is going south in a hurry.
“Europe’s highest court rules that workers who happen to get sick on vacation are legally entitled to take another vacation.” *sigh*