Your rights: Sick leave unpaid

I was medically retired by my former employer after suffering an injury while at work. All entitlements were paid upon my termination.

However, my employer would not pay me my sick leave that I had accrued during my time working with him.

When I asked I was told that this was not company policy to pay sick days upon leaving.

My question is this. When a person is medically retired because of injuries received at work, are they entitled to payment of all the sick days that are owing?

No, your employer probably did not have to pay you for outstanding sick leave when your employment came to an end.

Section 67 of the Holidays Act states that 'an employee is not entitled to be paid for any sick leave that has not been taken before the date on which his or her employment ends'.

This applies regardless of the reason for your employment ending (even if it is a medical termination as a result of injuries sustained while at work).

Very often, an employee would not be dismissed for medical reasons unless they had used up all their sick leave.

However, if you were receiving ACC compensation before your employment was terminated, you probably would not have been given any sick leave (an employer can allow you to use your sick leave to "top up" the ACC payments, but is under no obligation to do so).

THE EXPERT

Geoff Bevan is a solicitor with Chapman Tripp. Answers are of a general nature only and should not be substituted for specific legal advice.

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