Brussels, 12/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - All employers must pay financial compensation for annual leave not taken, on the basis of the four weeks of paid leave to which all workers are entitled every year, even if the working relationship ended due to the death of the worker, the Court of Justice of the EU states in a ruling (C-118/13) returned on Thursday 12 June.
Under the working time directive (2003/88/EC), all workers are entitled to at least four weeks of paid leave every year. This leave may take the form of financial compensation in lieu only if the employment relationship ends. But what happens if the worker dies before being able to avail himself of that right? Is the right, in the form of financial compensation, inheritable, or does it expire with the death of the worker?
The European judges found that the right to annual leave and the entitlement to the payment due are two aspects of a single right. The end of the working relationship, including in the event of death, does not prevent this right from being enjoyed. This means that all national laws or practices which provide for the right to paid annual leave to expire without giving rise to any financial compensation for leave not taken is incompatible with Community law. The Court goes on to state that the compensation does not depend on a prior application by the interested party. (JK)