Falling ill during your holiday, by country
Most of these statutes let an employee who falls ill on holiday keep the leave days, but they differ on the price of that right. Germany and Norway require a doctor's certificate and Austria adds a three-day threshold and a duty to notify, while Sweden asks only that the employee request it without delay. The Netherlands and Australia work the other way round by saying what does not count as holiday, and Canada, Spain and France speak of interrupting or postponing leave, with Spain allowing 18 months to use it and France 15.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Are the days given back? | Proof or notice required | Conditions and limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Yes: working days of illness are not counted against the leave | Notify the employer after three days of illness; give a medical certificate on return, with an official confirmation if ill abroad | Only if the illness lasted more than three calendar days and was not caused on purpose or by gross negligence; no restoration if the employee did paid work contrary to the purpose of the leave and the illness is linked to it |
| Australia | Yes, if the employee takes personal/carer’s leave: other leave taken during annual leave is not counted as annual leave | Notice as soon as practicable, which may be after the leave has started; evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person, if the employer asks | Personal/carer’s leave is available when the employee is not fit for work because of personal illness or injury |
| Canada | The employee may interrupt the vacation to take medical leave and resume it afterwards | Written notice of the interruption, before or as soon as possible after it begins, and of the day the vacation resumes | Medical leave covers personal illness or injury, up to 27 weeks |
| Germany | Yes: days of incapacity are not counted against the annual leave | Medical certificate | |
| Spain | Yes: leave can be taken after the temporary incapacity ends | Up to 18 months from the end of the year in which the leave arose; for incapacity due to pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding, even after the calendar year has ended | |
| France | Leave the employee could not take because of illness or accident is carried over | Carry-over period of 15 months, starting when the employer gives the leave information after the employee returns | |
| Netherlands | Yes: sick days during fixed holiday do not count as holiday, unless the employee agrees | A written agreement may let sick days count as holiday, only up to the days above the statutory minimum | |
| Norway | Yes: the same number of working days are postponed and given as new leave later in the leave year | Medical certificate; claim made without undue delay after work resumes | For an employee who was fully unfit for work; the rule cannot be departed from to the employee's detriment |
| Sweden | Yes: such days are not counted as leave days, and the remaining leave days are placed together | The employee must ask without delay | For days on which the employee could not have worked because of illness or work injury |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Urlaubsgesetz § 5
- Applies to employees covered by the Urlaubsgesetz. If the employee does not meet the notice and certificate duties, the days are not given back.
- Abroad, a certificate must carry an official confirmation that the doctor was licensed, unless treatment was in a hospital and the hospital confirms it.
so werden auf Werktage fallende Tage der Erkrankung, an denen der Arbeitnehmer durch die Erkrankung arbeitsunfähig war, auf das Urlaubsausmaß nicht angerechnet, wenn die Erkrankung länger als drei Kalendertage gedauert hat.ohne dies vorsätzlich oder grob fahrlässig herbeigeführt zu habenDer Arbeitnehmer hat dem Arbeitgeber nach dreitägiger Krankheitsdauer die Erkrankung unverzüglich mitzuteilen.hat der Arbeitnehmer ohne schuldhafte Verzögerung ein ärztliches Zeugnis oder eine Bestätigung des zuständigen Krankenversicherungsträgers über Beginn, Dauer und Ursache der Arbeitsunfähigkeit vorzulegen.Übt ein Arbeitnehmer während seines Urlaubes eine dem Erholungszweck widersprechende Erwerbstätigkeit aus, so findet Abs. 1 keine Anwendung, wenn die Erkrankung (der Unglücksfall) mit dieser Erwerbstätigkeit in ursächlichem Zusammenhang steht. Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009 ss 89, 97, 107
- National Employment Standards. Section 89 speaks of any other leave under the same Part; it does not name sick leave, which is paid personal/carer’s leave under section 97.
- The employee has to have personal/carer’s leave available: the days are given back as annual leave only because they become personal/carer’s leave.
If the period during which an employee takes paid annual leave includes a period of any other leave (other than unpaid parental leave) under this Partthe employee is taken not to be on paid annual leave for the period of that other leave or absence. because the employee is not fit for work because of a personal illness, or personal injury, affecting the employee must be given to the employer as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has started)must, if required by the employer, give the employer evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person that Canada
- Rule
- Canada Labour Code ss 187.1, 239
- Federal sector only (Canada Labour Code). The statute allows the vacation to be interrupted and resumed; it does not speak of days being "given back".
- This guide does not state what evidence the employer may ask for: this row quotes only the notice rules.
An employee may interrupt a vacation granted to them under this Division in order to permit them to take a leave of absence under Division VII or VIII or section 247.5 or to be absent due to a reason referred to in subsection 239(1) or 239.1(1).An employee who intends to interrupt their vacation shall provide the employer with written notice of the interruption before or as soon as possible after the interruption begins.An employee who interrupts their vacation and who intends to resume it immediately after the interruption ends shall provide the employer with written notice of the day on which they resume their vacation before or as soon as possible after that day. medical leave of absence from employment of up to 27 weeks as a result ofpersonal illness or injury Germany
- Rule
- Bundesurlaubsgesetz § 9
- Applies to employees covered by the Bundesurlaubsgesetz. The section is one sentence and sets no minimum length of illness and no deadline for notice.
Erkrankt ein Arbeitnehmer während des Urlaubs, so werden die durch ärztliches Zeugnis nachgewiesenen Tage der Arbeitsunfähigkeit auf den Jahresurlaub nicht angerechnet. Spain
- Rule
- Estatuto de los Trabajadores art. 38.3
- Applies where the leave period in the company calendar coincides with a temporary incapacity that makes it impossible to enjoy the leave, in whole or in part.
- The article does not say what proof the worker must give, so this guide does not state it.
se tendrá derecho a disfrutar las vacaciones en fecha distinta a la de la incapacidad temporalaunque haya terminado el año natural a que correspondanel trabajador podrá hacerlo una vez finalice su incapacidad y siempre que no hayan transcurrido más de dieciocho meses a partir del final del año en que se hayan originado. France
- Rule
- Code du travail art. L3141-19-1
- Applies to employees covered by the Code du travail. The article speaks of being unable to take leave during the leave period because of illness or accident; it does not separately address illness that begins in the middle of a holiday.
- After a sick leave the employer must tell the employee, within a month of return, how many leave days remain and until when they can be taken.
Lorsqu'un salarié est dans l'impossibilité, pour cause de maladie ou d'accident, de prendre au cours de la période de prise de congés tout ou partie des congés qu'il a acquis, il bénéficie d'une période de report de quinze mois afin de pouvoir les utiliser.Cette période débute à la date à laquelle le salarié reçoit, après sa reprise du travail, les informations prévues à l' article L. 3141-19-3 . l'employeur porte à la connaissance du salarié, dans le mois qui suit la reprise du travail1° Le nombre de jours de congé dont il dispose Netherlands
- Rule
- BW 7 art. 638 lid 8
- Applies to employees under an employment contract. The statutory minimum referred to is the one in article 634.
- The article does not say what proof the employee must give, so this guide does not state it.
Dagen of gedeelten van dagen waarop de werknemer tijdens een vastgestelde vakantie ziek is, gelden niet als vakantie, tenzij in een voorkomend geval de werknemer daarmee instemt.kan bij schriftelijke overeenkomst worden bepaald dat de in enig jaar verleende vakantiedagen of gedeelten daarvan waarop de werknemer ziek is, als vakantie gelden tot ten hoogste het aantal vakantiedagen dat voor dat jaar boven het in artikel 634 bedoelde minimum is overeengekomen. Norway
- Rule
- Ferieloven § 9 nr. 1
- Applies to employees covered by the Ferieloven. A collective agreement or advance agreement cannot take this right away to the employee's harm.
- Before the holiday the employee can instead claim a postponement if fully unfit, with a medical certificate, by the last working day before it starts.
Arbeidstaker som har vært helt arbeidsufør i løpet av ferien, kan kreve at et tilsvarende antall virkedager ferie utsettes og gis som ny ferie senere i ferieåret.Kravet må dokumenteres med legeerklæring og fremsettes uten ugrunnet opphold etter at arbeidet er gjenopptatt.Reglene i nr. 1, 2 og 3 kan ikke til skade for arbeidstaker fravikes ved tariffavtale eller annen forhåndsavtale.Arbeidstaker som blir helt arbeidsufør før ferien, kan kreve at ferien utsettes til senere i ferieåret. Sweden
- Rule
- Semesterlag 15 §
- Applies to employees covered by the Semesterlag. The remaining days are placed in one block unless the employee agrees otherwise.
- The section does not say what proof the employee must give, so this guide does not state it.
Om det under semesterledigheten infaller en eller flera dagar då arbetstagaren inte hade kunnat arbeta på grund av sjukdom eller arbetsskadaska, om arbetstagaren utan dröjsmål begär det, sådana dagar inte räknas som semesterdagar.I sådant fall ska de semesterdagar som återstår förläggas i ett sammanhang, om arbetstagaren inte medger annat. Countries not in this table yet
The United States, the United Kingdom and Japan are missing. The federal US statutes loaded (FLSA, FMLA) and the UK Employment Rights Act 1996 do not deal with sickness during annual leave, the UK Working Time Regulations are not loaded, and the Japanese Labor Standards Act article 39 says nothing on it.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Falling ill during your holiday, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/sick-during-holiday (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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