Where the employee is prevented from working by personal circumstances for which he is not at fault, such as illness, accident, legal obligations or public duties, the employer must pay him his salary for a limited time, including fair compensation for lost benefits in kind, provided the employment relationship has lasted or was concluded for longer than three months.
Subject to longer periods being fixed by individual agreement, standard employment contract or collective employment contract, the employer must pay three weeks’ salary during the first year of service and thereafter the salary for appropriately longer periods depending on the duration of the employment relationship and the particular circumstances.
The employer has the same obligation in the event that an employee becomes pregnant.121
A written agreement, standard employment contract or collective employment contract may derogate from the above provisions provided it gives the employee terms of at least equivalent benefit.