Taking holiday when on long term sick leave

[BananaWaving]

From what I have seen online, apparently annual leave still accrues even when on sick leave.

It seems a bit cheeky, but has anyone taken annual leave when they are on long term sick leave so that they get full pay for that time instead of the reduced sick pay amount?

Also, has anyone who works in HR come across this being done?

Thanks.

@harriethoyle is giving you good advice. None of us know anything about the particular policy or its terms and conditions so you are either getting guesses or details of what their PHI covers which is not going to help you.

Thanks. I’m looking at my home insurance now to see what the legal cover includes.

I'm sorry that you've had such a poor prognosis, of course I am — I'm not inhuman. But having been an employer in the past I know that employees tend to assume that insurance / the government will cover an employer's costs. As PPs have confirmed, it's unlikely that the insurance will pay out indefinitely.

As an employee I've twice had the experience of being expected to do my own job while also covering for a colleague off sick long term. As others have pointed out, one can't necessarily replace someone on long-term sick leave. I've also had to ask my employees to cover for a colleague off long-term who was eventually diagnosed with ME and who went away on holiday while too unwell to work. It can be complicated. I wish you well.

I do. My erstwhile employer paid me sick pay for over twenty years, until I reached retirement age. They had also been paying into my pension throughout that time (as had I), so I then transferred onto a full pension from them. They're a large multi-national and, because of their size, generally choose to self-insure.

On the original question of sick pay, they dealt with it by giving me an uplift on my sick pay to cover it. I remember it seemed most surreal when they told me they were doing this!

"OP most people on here won't understand the legalities behind a PHI policy. You can't be dismissed or managed out once you're in receipt of benefits under such a policy. It can lead to a huge breach of contract claim."

This is not accurate. If contracts etc. are worded tight enough people in IP schemes can absolutely 100% be dismissed due to ill health capability.

Thank you for sharing your experience @AllSerene
That gives me more hope for my situation but I definitely need to get the contract and policy checked by an employment solicitor to find out how I stand legally.

Obviou.sly I don't know your details but my husband was told he'd never work again over 30 years ago. He was on full sick pay for 2 years and then retired on an illhealth pension. He had about 25 years employment and was in a good pension scheme. By the time he had a lump sum and a decent pension he had security and we knew exactly where we stood. For him, and the family, the pension was a good option. It might be another option for you to look at.

I know of three cases where people with PHI and huge employers had their employment terminated. Just because you don't like the opinions doesn't make them inaccurate. If you want total accuracy, take the terms of your employment and the PHI to a lawyer specialising in the area and their opinion might be worth the price - but the reason there are courts is because even lawyers only have opinions, and there are often at least two of them.

I glad it worked out well for you and your DH @Iwasafool and hope your DH’s health is ok at the moment. My company provides the PHI because they don’t have ill health pension provisions. That suggests that it is meant to offer long term protection in the way that the ill health pension would

Good luck, @BananaWaving and I hope your employer proves as good as mine did.

I was formally transferred onto their disability plan, two or three years after I went off sick. This didn't make any difference to my pay but did mean that I was no longer considered an active employee, and wouldn't have been included in any considerations about the workforce. It was also made very clear that, in the unlikely event of my recovering, that there was no promise that I had a job to go back to.

Yes, I’m looking into getting an employment lawyer to check my policy and contract for me. It seems too difficult to navigate myself especially when I am ill.
I appreciate all the comments on this thread, it has been really helpful in showing how complicated it is and confirming that I need expert help with it.

And neither would I. However I'm afraid that being a trustee for a not-for-profit social enterprise ended up teaching me that some people will exploit any loophole or latitude offered.

Just to be clear, I am not thinking of the OP in this light.

You can't just decide that this opinion is fact because it says what you want to hear.

Every poster is posting opinions, the only ones with any facts are the ones saying you need specialist advice.

Without seeing the contract it is juat speculation, mine is that you are unlikely to be paid until retirement age- the only people I know who have had income protection for life are those that took it out personally.
I hope for you it is longer term, but rocking and boat as a pp suggested is probably prudent until you get real legal advice.

Name changed for this. I’ve been on Group Income Protection for almost 20 years, abd the wording of the policy is key. I’m paid 2/3 of my basic plus my package perks - pension and health insurance etc until retirement. I work for a multinational.

The insurer has tried to dislodge the claim repeatedly but I fought back and won each time. My condition is such that I can’t do the job I’m employed to do, and THAT is the key bit - it’s “own occupation” at the point at which I went off sick. Not “any occupation.”

My employer has backed off since my lawyer pointed out that any hassle from the insurance company will be seen as a vicarious liability on the employer as it’s their contract with the insurer, not mine. I’m just the beneficiary.

My contract cannot be terminated as this would restrict my access to the contractual benefit and that’s unlawful. So we are in a weird 3 way marriage until I die or reach retirement age.
I accrue holiday pay as normal and then it is paid to me once a year.

Make sure you’re familiar with your contract terms and the terms of the policy.

Also, some absolute nonsense on this thread……

@AutoOffswitch so you can work in another easier job but choose not to as you have a much better offer where you don't have to work?

Yes.

Wow. Quite a perk. How many of your colleagues are also receiving this benefit?

Are you allowed to work elsewhere? If you wanted to.

I’ll cut my right arm off if they are still doing that.

@Tryingtryingandtrying every single one of my colleagues if they were afflicted by a similar condition could avail of it.

No I can’t work anywhere else. This is to compensate me for the fact my career stopped dead and I’m not able to do my job.

Thank you @AutoOffswitch
Mine is “own job” until state retirement age, Hopefully a lawyer will be able to confirm that my position is similar to yours.

Exactly. Some people on this thread are being unnecessarily unkind as if it is scam to be long term sick

If they have to keep your job open for you it means they can't recruit another person who would be able to work. Also like with most insurance the more they claim the higher their premiums will be.

I don’t think that is my responsibility though. I am entitled to my contractual benefits, it is just a case of getting legal advice to clarify exactly what they are. Is it any different to people going on maturity leave as they are entitled to do?

Can't you retire under ill health in your situation, if your consultant says you will never work again?.