What happens if an employee falls ill when he or she is on holiday leave? Or if an employee on long-term sick leave intends to go on holiday?
It is fall break. Many employees take holidays to go where the sun is. This is a good time for employers to take a close look at the topic of sickness during holiday leave. What happens if an employee falls ill when he or she is on holiday leave? Or if an employee on long-term sick leave intends to go on holiday? In this article we will explain what you need to know about sick employees and their holidays.
The statutory number of holiday is four times the employee’s number of working hours per week. An employee working full time is thus entitled to 20 holidays. By employment contract or collective agreement more holiday days can be agreed upon. These days are referred to as days exceeding the statutory entitlement.
If an employee calls in sick during his holiday, he or she is no longer on holiday leave but on sick leave. Sick leave must apply to the days on which the employee is sick and holidays cannot be written off. The employee must call in sick in the customary manner as soon as possible, even if abroad. As employer, you can request the employee to submit a medical certificate.
Employees on sick leave accrue holidays on the same basis as employees who are not on sick leave. No distinction is made among them. If a sick employee intends to go on holiday he must ask permission from the employer. As an employer, you are in principle obliged to accept this but you can impose the condition that the employee agrees to writing off the time as holidays so that there won’t be an excessive amount of holidays accrued. Make sure that this agreement will be made in writing.
Thus, employees on sick leave accrue holidays. In certain cases it is possible to deduct (part of) the days on which the employee is absent due to sickness from the holidays.
Would you like to learn more about sick employees and holidays? Or do you have any other questions regarding your personnel? Please contact us:
The salary thresholds for highly skilled migrants and European Blue Card holders are adjusted annually. What will be the amounts for 2026? Also, stricter rules for the highly skilled migrant scheme are proposed. What might change?
On-call contracts offer many advantages for both employers and on-call employees. However, there are also a few rules that they need to take into account. What are they?
What shall we do with the drunken employee? Sack him? That isn’t always allowed. Alcohol abuse may be the result of an addiction and in that case the prohibition on termination during illness may apply. What do you have to take into account when dismissing an employee due to alcohol consumption?
24 November 2025 was Equal Pay Day in the Netherlands: the day of the year when men have earned on average as much as women in a whole year. How can the European Directive on wage transparency ensure that men and women are paid equally?
Almost all companies now use some form of AI. This means that they may be subject to the prohibitions and regulations set out in the European AI Act. How can you ensure that you comply with these rules?
The statutory minimum hourly wage changes every six months. What are the new amounts as of 1 January 2026?
