A landmark employment tribunal appeal which ruled workers on long-term sick leave can claim four weeks' holiday pay could cost Bradford businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Businesses across the UK are contesting the ruling which could add hundreds of thousands of pounds to their wage bills.

The UK case involved Keith Brown, a factory worker who had been on long-term sick leave since October 1998, who recently won his two-year legal battle.

The court ruled that, under the 1998 Working Time Regulations Act, Brown was to be awarded over £1,000 covering his holiday time in 1999.

Liz Henry, employment law specialist at Last Cawthra Feather, said the consequences for employers and employees in Bradford could be costly.

She said: "This is a landmark ruling which could open the floodgates for similar claims to be lodged against employers and the cost for businesses could run to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"The case could also have negative consequences for absent workers.

"The current situation of workers on long-term sick leave being kept on by their employer as an act of goodwill is likely to become an unaffordable policy for employers to support.

"Employers may terminate contracts rather than letting them continue indefinitely where long-term absence is concerned although they would need to be careful that they were not breaching the Disability Discriminations Act.

"To avoid their contracts from being terminated, employees may report back to work earlier than is medically recommended.

"Employers should also be aware that this case has an impact on the holiday entitlement of workers on maternity and paternity leave.

"In both instances, a worker may continue to accrue holiday for the period of time they are absent from work."

Industries like the public sector, postal industry, and engineering, which have high levels of sick leave, are likely to be hardest hit.