§2 What is not included in the reference period

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Interpretative Communication on Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time · European Union

As regards the reference period used for the calculation of average weekly working time, Article 16 of the Directive provides that ‘[…] The periods of paid annual leave, granted in accordance with Article 7, and the periods of sick leave shall not be included or shall be neutral in the calculation of the average […]’. This means that the absence of work during these periods cannot be used to compensate other periods during which the weekly working time exceeded the maximum. As for paid annual leave, this relates to the 4 weeks granted by the Directive. However, in terms of the right to sick leave, its ‘conditions for exercise […] are not, as Community law now stands, governed by that law’ (200). It is therefore necessary to refer to the national definition(s) of sick leave to know which periods should be excluded or be neutral in the calculation of the average weekly working time.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07