Although this was not a reference case the Court held that a duty of care applied. The claim should succeed because the damage sustained was foreseeable, the relationship was sufficiently proximate, the claim fair, just and reasonable and there was a causal connection between the negligence in and about the sending of the email and the damage claimed.
SICKNESS AND ACCRUED ANNUAL LEAVE
4 May 2011 The Court of Justice of the European Union is today hearing the case brought by German Authorities in respect of KHS AG v Winifried Schulte in respect of annual leave being carried forward even when a person has been sick. As many members will be aware the issue of accruing holidays whilst on sick leave is still an unresolved issue. We know that carrying holidays over into a new holiday year is not permitted under the Working Time Regulations, and yet rulings over the last few years are insisting employers do just that; Stringer etc to name but one case! According to a press release from Eversheds , today (3 May 2011) the The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is hearing the important case of KHS AG v Winifried Schulte about whether a worker's annual leave entitlement can expire at the end of a holiday year or specified carry over period if it is not taken, even if that worker has been sick and therefore absent from work therefore accruing several years' holiday entitlement. Owen Warnock, partner at international law firm Eversheds comments: "This is an important case which will have implications for employers in the UK. To put the case in context, following the CJEU’s ruling in the linked cases of Stringer and Schultz-Hoff it became clear that paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations (WTR) continues to accrue during sick leave, and that workers can opt to take that leave when off sick (subject to the employer's rights to control when leave is taken). A further CJEU decision ruled that workers who go on sick leave during a period that has been scheduled as annual leave for the purposes of the Working Time Directive should be allowed to reschedule their holidays, even if that means allowing leave to be carried forward into a subsequent holiday year. “In essence the position following those CJEU decisions is that workers who are on sick leave have a choice: they can take annual leave if they wish, but if they would prefer not to do so they can insist on postponing their annual leave and taking it at a later date, possibly even in a subsequent leave year if it is not possible to schedule leave before the current year ends. “This latest case asks the CJEU for further guidance - particularly on how long holiday can accrue and be carried forward. The UK Working Time Regulations need amendment to reflect the existing European case law on the topic of holiday and sickness, so it will be useful to have whatever further clarity the European Court can provide. Employers will certainly welcome if it the Court puts some limits on the ability of long term sick employees to accrue and carry forward holiday.”
EQUAL PAY TRIBUNAL
25 May 2011 The claimants in this case were school staff (Council employees) and the Appeal Tribunal had to determine if they were in the same employment as other council staff for purposes of the Equal Pay Act. Daniel Barnett’s Employment Law Bulletin reports:
CIPP Policy News Journal
09/10/2012, Page 32 of 234
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