Employers need to ensure policies regarding holiday sick pay mirror their normal approach following last week's ECJ ruling.
This comes after the European Court of Justice ruled workers whose paid annual leave coincides with illness are entitled to additional time off last week.
Allen & Overy professional support lawyer Sheila Fahy (pictured) said that the ruling built on a previous case which found that sick workers should be allowed to take their leave at another time.
But she said having a clear policy would help employers combat any potential abuse.
She suggested that employers should approach the issue in a way that mirrored their approach to sick leave - including asking for evidence of illness if it lasts more than four days.
Fahy explained: "You will always get one or two employees in any work place who will abuse it but you don't design a policy for those one or two. Most employers have a common sense attitude to this and I think the employees will as well."
