The theory behind the European Union might be good, but in practice it is full of problems, not least of which is the rules and regulations which hinder businesses unnecessarily.
There is no better example than a ruling from the EU’s Court of Justice that workers who happened to get sick on holiday were legally entitled to take another holiday:
The workers originally won their case in a Spanish court, where they argued that collective bargaining agreements made a distinction between annual leave and sick leave that was recognized by Spanish law. The National Association of Large Distribution Businesses, known as Anged, appealed to the Supreme Court in Madrid, which then asked the Court of Justice for a ruling on how to apply European law covering working times.
The Court of Justice had previously ruled that a person who gets sick before going on vacation is entitled to reschedule the vacation, and on Thursday it said that right extended into the vacation itself.
“The point at which the temporary incapacity arose is irrelevant,” the court found.
The ruling applies across the European Union of 27 countries.
It isn’t unknown for people to suffer self-inflicted illnesses while on holiday from too much sun, food and/or alcohol.
If I read this ruling correctly it would allow people who have hangovers to add an extra day to their holidays . There would be nothing to stop them repeating the acts which led to the hangover which would result in another day’s illness and a subsequent extra day’s holiday and keep on doing that.
This ruling effectively enables people to take permanent holidays.
It shows that Planet EU is similar to Planet Labour – a place far removed from the real world where there’s no understanding of the connection between productivity and progress.
Hat tip: Anti Dismal
Homepaddock 