Sick on holiday: leave to resume?

Sick on holiday: leave to resume?

 "I was on holiday abroad when I fell ill for several days and was bedridden for most of the time. I went to see a doctor on the spot, who gave me a medical certificate. When I got back to work, I told my employer that I hadn't been able to take advantage of my leave. He refused to grant me additional days off. Does he have the right to do so? " M, Geneva

The purpose of holidays is to allow employees to rest and to take a break from their professional obligations. It therefore has an impact on the employee's health, and the employer has a legal obligation to ensure that this right is respected.

If an employee falls ill or has an accident while on holiday, the purpose of the holiday has not been achieved, and case law attaches certain consequences to this. The principle is that the days during which the employee was unable to rest can be recovered at a later date.

However, not all damage to health necessarily gives rise to a right to recuperation. A distinction must be made between physical or mental disturbances that prevent the worker from resting and minor ailments that have no influence on the achievement of the intended purpose; in fact, the impairment must be of a certain intensity. A simple sunburn, headache or even a broken finger are probably not enough. On the other hand, hospitalisation or a nervous breakdown are more likely to lead to the restitution of holiday days.

It must always be determined whether, in a specific case, the employee's health has been impaired to such an extent that he or she is unable to take the necessary time to rest. The issue of a medical certificate is therefore not in itself decisive and must be corroborated by the facts that the employee bears the burden of proving. The inconvenience must also be of a certain duration. Finally, the employee must promptly inform his employer of his inability to enjoy his holidays and cannot, in principle, simply submit a medical certificate on his return to work, as you say you did.

The situation you describe apparently prevented you from taking any rest, even though you remained in bed, so you should be able to demonstrate that your holiday unfortunately did not benefit you. If your employer persists in refusing to allow you to recover the holiday days corresponding to the duration of your illness, you can take your case to the industrial tribunal.