Holiday Leave

[woodchopper]

An employee was sick since mid February - he had booked Easter week off and is returning to work on the 2nd May - is he entitled to retain just the flexi days leave (3 days) he had booked for Easter week or both flexi and the two statutory ?
Was paid SSP the whole time he was off.

[THECORBYLOON]

"Sick leave and holiday

Statutory holiday entitlement is built up (accrued) while an employee is off work sick (no matter how long they’re off).

Any statutory holiday entitlement that is not used because of illness can be carried over into the next leave year. If an employee is ill just before or during their holiday, they can take it as sick leave instead.

An employee can ask to take their paid holiday for the time they’re off work sick. They might do this if they do not qualify for sick pay, for example. Any rules relating to sick leave will still apply.

Employers cannot force employees to take annual leave when they’re eligible for sick leave."

[Buenchico]

There are no 'statutory' holidays. Public holidays have no significance whatsoever in employment law (other than for bank staff, who're covered by specific legislation).

For example, if an employee normally works on Wednesdays, his employer is fully entitled to insist that he works on Christmas Day this year, at his normal pay rate and with no time off in lieu.

Your firm has obviously allocated the two public holidays over the Easter weekend as part of the employee's entitlement but their standing in employment law is exactly the same as those days which the employee has chosen to take off himself.

Therefore the employee is entitled to receive 5 days paid holiday, in lieu of the 5 days that he missed out on.