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On paid annual leave, the Communication outlines the extensive case-law of the Court which covers various aspects ranging from the obligation to grant workers a right to carry over untaken paid annual leave where they did not have the opportunity to exercise that right, for example due to sick leave (19), to the clarification that the principle of paid annual leave vested in Article 31(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has horizontal and vertical direct effect, meaning it can be invoked directly in proceedings between private individuals (20) and between private individuals and emanations of the state (21). However, additional periods of paid annual leave granted by the Member States in excess of the four weeks required by the Directive can be subject to conditions set out in national law (22).
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.