歐盟好福利:休假時生病了?痊癒後可補回損失假期

The European Court of Justice has expanded on its insistence that all workers throughout the EU have a right to reclaim holiday time affected by illness.

歐盟法院做出了一項法律解釋，歐盟國家所有的員工如果在休假期間生病，都有權利重新補回假期。

The court ruling, made after an appeal by a Spanish trade union, is binding on all EU members, including Britain.

法院是在一家西班牙工會提出請求後作出這項裁定的，對所有的歐盟成員國都具備約束力，包括英國。

The Luxembourg-based court insisted that employers should honour workers' rights to both time off sick and paid holidays.

這家位於盧森堡的法院堅持認爲，僱主必須尊重員工休假期間生病補假和帶薪假期的權利。

"The purpose of entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable the worker to rest and enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure," the court said. "The purpose of entitlement to sick leave is different, since it enables a worker to recover from an illness that has caused him to be unfit for work."

"保證帶薪年假的權利是爲了讓員工可以享受一段放鬆休閒的時光，" 法院解釋說。"而保證病假權利的目的則不同， 因爲生病會讓員工無法勝任工作，而病假可以確保他們得到康復。"

It would be "arbitrary and contrary to the purpose of entitlement to paid annual leave" to deny workers holiday time in exchange for time spent sick.

如果把員工生病期間的休假也算入休假時間，這就"違背了帶薪年假的目的"。

The judgment goes further than the court's earlier rulings on sick leave. Previously, the court had said that people who were sick before their holiday started could take their leave at another time.

之前法院曾針對病假做出過裁定，而這次的判決更進一步做出了說明。此前法院表示，員工如果在假期開始前生病，那麼可以另選時間休假。

The judgment relates to the EU's Working Time Directive. While the UK has an opt-out on parts of the directive relating to working hours, there is no exemption on sick pay and holiday. The Government has said it will apply the court's rulings from October, although business groups have said that doing so will be harmful to the wider UK economy.

此次裁決和歐盟的《工時指導法》有關。儘管英國選擇退出了和工作時間相關的部分指導法的約束，但是在病假工資和假期方面並未免除相應的責任。英國政府表示將從10月開始執行法院的裁定，雖然衆多企業認爲這樣做會損害更廣泛的英國經濟。

Norman Lamb, the employment relations minister, said the ruling boosted the case for changing EU rules on holiday rights.

就業關係部部長Norman Lamb稱，這項裁定促使了歐盟對休假權利做出調整。

He said: "I do not believe that the directive had to be interpreted in this way which involves extra cost for business. Most employees accept that if they fall ill while on holiday, it is unfortunate but they do not expect extra holiday. This judgment reinforces the need for a reassessment of the scope of the Working Time Directive." The Government's own estimates suggest that adopting the rules will cost employers more than £100 million annually.

他說："我不認爲這項指導法意味着給企業帶來更多的開支。大部分員工認爲如果他們在假期裏生病的確很倒黴，但他們也沒有指望還能把這部分假期補回來。 這項裁定讓我們有必要重新評估《工時指導法》的範圍。" 而政府預算表明，如果按照新的規定執行，英國的僱主每年會多支出1億英鎊。

The Department for Business did not comment on Thursday night, but the Coalition has pledged to resist implementing the court's judgments.

英國商務部週四晚上並未對此發表評論，但該聯盟已經宣稱將抵制法院的裁定。

Earlier this year, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, described the court's rulings as "an unnecessary burden on businesses" and "completely unjustifiable at a time of economic strain".

今年早些時候，商務大臣Vince Cable稱法院的這項裁定是"企業多餘的負擔"，而且"在經濟不景氣時期是完全不合理的"。

Some British employers, including the BBC, already give staff the right to reclaim holiday time if they fall sick. Business groups said the rulings underlined the need for ministers to resist the court.

包括BBC廣播公司在內的部分英國公司已經允許那些在假期生病的員工重新補回假期。英國的公司紛紛表示，這項裁定會迫使商務部進一步抵制法院的判決。

The CBI said that British businesses "would like to see the judgments reversed, so that the directive is focused on the health and safety of the workforce, as originally intended". The Federation of Small Businesses urged the Government to "avoid implementation of any ECJ ruling on annual leave and sick leave for as long as possible".

英國工業聯合會稱，英國的公司"希望裁定能夠被推翻，這樣指導法會像它最初的目的一樣，專注於員工的健康和安全"。英國小企業聯合會敦促政府"避免執行歐洲法院在年假和病假上的裁定，而且拖得越久越好"。