Rights and obligations of the employee in case of incapacity for work with sickness benefit receipt
July 20, 2009 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
I have been employed full-time in the public service for 28 years. Since 28.04.2009, I have been receiving sickness benefits and at the same time an employer subsidy to compensate for my net salary. As it is uncertain how long my incapacity to work will continue (due to a double herniated disc) and my husband and I have booked a holiday for September 2009 for 10 days, my question is: Can I still go on holiday despite being unfit for work?
After consulting with the health insurance, there would be no obstacle to this if my treating doctor were to issue a certificate of fitness to travel.
To what extent do I need to inform my employer about this holiday and can the employer refuse it or not allow me to go, possibly leading to termination, etc.?
Thank you for your answer
Ellinor Niederelz
Dear advice seeker,
Thank you for your inquiry.
I would like to address your questions in consideration of your situation and the information you provided:
Even if you receive compensation during illness, it is not generally forbidden for you to go on a trip while being unable to work. However, it is important that your health insurance approves the vacation beforehand.
According to your description, this should not be an issue as the health insurance typically supports vacation under certain conditions (with a doctor's certificate). Just make sure to get this approval in writing.
Nevertheless, you should not spend your vacation in a way that disrupts or hinders your healing process.
Therefore, you should indeed obtain a doctor's certificate confirming your ability to travel.
Once you have this certificate, your employer should not deny you the vacation, unless there are general regulations applicable to all employees, such as urgent operational needs. However, this does not seem to be the case based on your description.
You should inform your employer about your vacation plans, which should not be a problem. This would also be a good opportunity to present the doctor's certificate.
Your employer cannot terminate your employment due to your vacation plans, considering the aforementioned precautions.
I hope this provides you with some initial legal guidance and wish you success and all the best.
Lastly, I would like to point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful. Feel free to contact me through the follow-up option on this platform or via email if you have further questions.
I wish you a pleasant Monday afternoon and a great start to the week!
Kind regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax: 0471/3088316
