i have rung in for an holiday and there was some going till i told them i was sick. They refused me holiday cause of this reason surely i can use holidays for whatever i like especially when my next day was to be a rest day and would have been ok as had a stomach upset.
you probably have holidays due which are aid leae, but for sickness leave thee are different contractual arrangements, you are probaably not paid for the first day of sickness for a start, in fact if u have had previous oeriods of sick leave, your performance may be being monitored, holidays are usually booked well in advance, sick leave is meant to be a short notice thing,your employer may be being uncooperative, but they are correct.
It may be the employer has a policy regarding sick leave and the number of days allowed in a year or a specific period. If the sick days reach a certain level, the employer may start ineffiency action and they may feel that holidays are being used to "mask" illness in an attempt to stop any action being taken
Employers can take inefficiency action against employees as a result of a poor sick record. Where I work, action is considered if eight or more sick days are taken in a rolling 12 month period. Allowances are made for any underlying conditions but even then it can still lead to dismissal if the employer can not continue to sustain continuing absences.