b) Exercise of the right in the event of sick leave
The Court has clearly held that it is open to the Member State to authorise or prohibit the taking of annual leave during a period of sick leave (331). Nonetheless, if the worker does not wish to take annual leave during that period, annual leave must be granted for a different period (332). This means, in particular, that a worker who is on sick leave during a period of planned annual leave has the right to take that annual leave at a different time, at his or her request (333), whether sick leave begins before or during the planned paid annual leave (334). While the employer’s interests can be taken into account when scheduling the worker’s leave, the entitlement to annual leave at a later date cannot be called into question (335). So the employer must grant the worker a different period of annual leave compatible with those interests, without excluding in advance a period outside the reference period for the annual leave in question (336).
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.