Annual leave and sickness

[sbdv]

My annual leave year rings April - April .

have annual leave booked for next week but I have been off sick for 2 weeks, and don’t expect to be going back for at least another 3/4 weeks.

my employer has cancelled by annual leave. Why is this?

what happens if I’m not back in time to use it before April. Will I lose it?

Not sure about the legalities, but where I work your leave would be changed to sick leave, and if you haven't been able to take your statutory allowance of annual leave you'd be able to carry it forward.

Its because you cannot be on leave and off sick at the same time.
It usually carries over

Oh so if the sick was replaced with annual leave then back to sick, it would be classed as separate sicknesses?

I don't know about that. But you can't take annual leave if you're taking sick leave.

No it doesnt work ike that.
If you are signed off as sick for 6 weeks you need a fit note after that to say you are fit
You cant juat say you are ok and go on leave then go off sick again

Oh ok. This all makes sense. I was worried there was something my employer wasn’t telling me or they were trying to make me lose my leave. Thank you

You can’t get annual leave whilst on sick. If you are not back before the year ends the annual leave will carry over to next year

Agree you can’t take annual leave if you are sign off sick. However, carrying over any unused leave is entirely determined by the policies: not every organisation allows leave to be carried forward.

Lots of incorrect replies here, you absolutely can take annual leave while signed off sick, though you may be better off having it carried over instead. What sick pay, if any, are you receiving currently? I would query with your work why it’s been cancelled and also ask for confirmation in writing that any unused annual leave days will be carried over to the new year. You have a right to carry over statutory leave (28 days including bank holiday) though additional leave may be down to company policy.

No this isn’t right. All sick notes are called Fit Notes and when your sign off on a fit note finishes you’re assumed to be well enough to go back to work, you don’t receive an additional note signing you back in

Are you thinking you’ll be off till after April?

Yes I know
I didnt say they are called sick notes
Yes I had to have a fit note saying I was ok to return as its part of my employment, I guess it depends on the job

My husband has been on long term sick for about 10 months. When we went into the new year he hadn't used any of last year's annual leave. He is due to go back to work soon and was told by his employer that they would carry the annual leave over but he has to use it by a certain date. He opted to use it before going back to work so it would mean more income because he was down to only SSP. So basically he has gone from being off sick to being classed as on annual leave. When it is all used up he'll go back to work.

It's down to company policy surely? I've just looked at my annual leave policy and I can't take al while signed off.

Yes
In the NHS you cant take AL if you have been signed off as sick.
Once you are well you can ask to have the leave added on the end before you return if its long term sick
Obviously if you become unwell whilst on leave most people wont bother calling in sick if its a cold etc

What they also cant do is request to go on leave instead of going sick, this is to prevent people hiding their absence history

Hi - I am only on SSP for the duration of my sickness and the leave I would be carrying (if allowed) is part of my stat allowance rather than through lieu / a buy scheme etc

Unsure at the moment - but the leave diary gets filled very quickly / in advance so I might not even be allowed to take it if I am back in time

Depending on what is in your contract your employer is supposed to give you the choice of taking it as sick leave or annual leave. You have the right to request holiday whilst sick. However, in order to cancel your already agreed holiday they have to give you the same amount of notice as the length of your holiday. If you are unable to take your annual leave due to sickness it should carry over.

Two separate periods of sickness within a short timeframe should be classed as linked so you don't have to start your waiting days again.

https://www.acas.org.uk/checking-sick-pay/sick-pay-and-holiday-pay

Have a look at this from Acas.

Most of my employers have had a policy that you can’t take holiday to cover sick leave but you can use a/l while on sick leave without break in your sickness period. This was because they didn’t want people covering up sickness with leave for trigger point purposes, but if someone could take a/l when they were on lower long term sick pay that was financially helpful. (In reality most managers let people take a/l for sickness!)