Quick question about holiday pay - before I call work and potentially look silly...

[StillGreenStrawberries]

I started my job in May, and went on maternity leave the last week of October. I booked all of my outstanding holiday to tag onto the beginning on my mat leave. So around four weeks worth. Our holiday year runs April to April ... so in theory I should have been paid for all of the holiday I booked? Is there any reason why I wouldn’t have been paid for this holiday that any one can think of?

It’s payday, and I’ve woken up to £150 in my account... so not even enough for one week of annual leave! I just don’t want to call up and seem like an idiot if there’s maybe a valid reason why this may be

[AlternativeTentacle]

Because you hadnt accrued the leave yet.

[RunningOutOfCharge]

Yeah that's what I thought too

[insancerre]

How much holiday entitlement do you get?
To have 4 weeks when you've not even been there a year seems quite generous

[PrincessLuna]

Has your baby arrived? I think baby’s arrival triggers start of maternity period in which case you’d have to be receiving maternity pay rather than holiday?

Although do sn’t sound like you were getting maternity pay either.

Definitely not a stupid question. If your employer is anything like mine this is definitely the kind of thing they could mess up.

[errorofjudgement]

4 weeks leave accrued in 6 months sounds like a lot.
However it also sounds like you haven’t got any SMP which I thought you would be entitled to.
I think you do need to chat with your payroll/HR Dept

[prettyprettyprettyprettyghoul]

The only reason would be if they accrue your leave daily/monthly, rather than giving it upfront at the beginning of the holiday year. Even if they did that, in the five or six months that you've been there you will have accrued almost half your annual allowance, less any bank holidays taken.

You will continue to accrue holidays while on paid maternity leave (39 weeks), which means if it is not paid now you will be able to access those days (they cannot be removed, I think a minimum of 20 must be carried over) when you return.

[StillGreenStrawberries]

So then in theory, I’d be paid for the annual leave in April, considering I’d have no opportunity to take it?

I just don’t get why my holiday was even authorised then, if I wasn’t going to actually be paid for it.

[screamingeels]

I think if you go on leave after x week of pregnancy it automatically triggers mat leave. At our work if you are adding annual leave to mat leave it gets tagged on the end. Obviously you should check your work policy if you've got one or google it.

[BeyondThePage]

At most jobs you earn your leave at 2-2.5 days per full month worked - so you'd earn 2 days for May (depending on start date - maybe not any if you started late in the month)/June/July/August/September (or not if your 4 weeks booked was tagged on then) - so probably only earned around 7-10 days worth.

So , they will reclaim the money owed to them from your wages for leave taken but not accrued.

[RestingButchFace]

That does seem like a lot of annual leave to have accrued in 6 months. Usually holidays are put on the end of maternity leave as you still accrue days while on ML. If you are 100% positive you had 4 weeks to use then that is not a silly question. What date is your maternity leave starting?

[prettyprettyprettyprettyghoul]

It wouldn't be paid until after you returned to work, and you actually take the days off.

They might agree to pay you out when you return if it means that your holiday balance is too high to use it within a reasonable period (eg. 20 days carried over if you return 2 days/week is 10 weeks, on top of the 5.6 weeks you will get for the new leave year is often difficult to take within 12 months).

That's a policy for your organisation.

Definitely not silly to ring your Payroll Officer and ask for clarification of your pay while on maternity leave. They should have provided to you already.

[prettyprettyprettyprettyghoul]

It's sick leave, not holiday after 34 weeks that triggers automatic transfer to SMP.

SMP needs to start by the time the baby is born.

[StillGreenStrawberries]

Sorry, I’m drip feeding a bit here. We get 8 weeks over the year, it is a really generous policy. It’s also pretty standard within my orginisation that if the manager approves it, you are paid for it. People have taken six weeks early on, been paid, and that’s been fine. They just reclaim any excess pay taken when you leave.

I don’t qualify for SMP, but have sorted my MA application. Because my last working day was calculated as the 26th of November, including the annual leave, that’s what’s I’ve put on my form. So I do really need to know if I should be claiming from a different date. In fact, now that I think of it, the 26th of November is on all my HR paperwork too as my official ‘leaving date’.

I haven’t had the baby yet! I’m being induced this afternoon as could really do without all this hassle.

[Marriageoftrueminds]

Do you know what your place of work’s maternity pay policy is? To qualify for SMP according to the Gov website you need to “have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks continuing into the ‘qualifying week’ - the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth”. So you have to have worked there since around the time you fell pregnant. Does that apply to you? Obviously your organisation may offer additional maternity pay on top/instead of this.

I don’t know about the holiday pay though, sorry. Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope you can sort out the money with your employer. It’s always worth phoning to ask!

[Lazypuppy]

That's what i'm doing-taking all holiday then my maternity officially starts after. Payroll have confirmed this will happen so can only think you're manager hasn't put it through properly.

Unless you hve had your baby , as once baby is born SMP starts automatically

[Marriageoftrueminds]

Sorry I cross-posted with you and my post is now irrelevant! Hope i didn’t sound patronising, it’s just that SMP can be confusing! Wishing you luck x

[StillGreenStrawberries]

Sorry, 24th of November is what’s on my MA form as my last working day. As in today. Obviously haven’t sent it off yet as I didn’t want to risk the baby being born earlier and triggering it starting sooner.

[StillGreenStrawberries]

Thank you all. I guess I’ll just send a quick email over and hope it’s either sorted or explained. I really don’t mind either way, I just feel like if something had changed like, ie; I wasn’t going to be paid for my leave. I should have been told! And maybe been given the opportunity to come back to work.

[insancerre]

It does sound like a mistake on their part
Or possibly they are waiting till your maternity leave starts officially them you may get your holiday pay next pay day

[StillGreenStrawberries]

Well, may payslip arrived. I haven’t even been paid for the 15th-20th of October (which I worked!). My payslip is entirely blank, apart from the £150 that looks like it’s been credited back in tax deductions!

I’m waiting on them to get back to me. Work confirmed my last date of annual leave is today, so I really am missing a month at full pay I really don’t want to have to be chasing this with a newborn on Monday morning! But I’ve seen them mess up wages with other people and it’s taken months to sort out.

Thank you all for your help this morning though. I didn’t want to get into a flap for no reason

[StillGreenStrawberries]

MY not may.

[prettyprettyprettyprettyghoul]

As you get 8 weeks' holidays, make sure the rest of your entitlement is given to you when you return from work, or if you don't return it still needs to be paid out.

[prettyprettyprettyprettyghoul]

What was the outcome?