On 20 January 2009 the ECJ gave its judgment in the Schultz Hoff/Stringer cases ruling that

• Annual leave accrues during periods of sick leave.
• Those entitlements cannot be extinguished where an employee has not had an opportunity to avail of them (due to the fact they were on sick leave for part of or all of the annual leave year).
• Where such employees are dismissed, a payment in lieu of such entitlements carries forward if they have not had the opportunity to take those built up entitlements (due to sick leave)

What does this mean for Irish employers?

It means employers must be even more vigilant about managing long term absenteeism cases, as the cost of such employees has increased by a possible 20 days pay per year, even where they are not being paid whilst on sick leave.

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