Does maternity leave start automatically once you have given birth?

[username888888]

I'm due mid December. I was thinking of booking annual leave the first two weeks of December then starting my maternity leave after. However my first DD arrived a week early if the same was to happen would that mean my maternity leave would actually start whilst I was on annual leave? Hence wasting it? Thanks

Yes it does but you’ll probably get the annual leave week back.

Yes it does, will your work let you roll your annual leave over in that case?

You're mat leave automatically starts the day after your baby is born.

Yes I had my daughter while on annual leave and so they brought forward my maternity leave . I tagged the annual leave onto the end of my maternity leave .

The day after baby is born and we don't get annual leave back. Can you start maternity leave and tag AL onto the end?

I set up something similar, annual leave then mat leave starting on due date. I was given an expected back to work date before I left and no one seemed to think that baby coming early would affect this. Yes technically mat leave would start the day after baby was born but it’s not like you have to report to your boss/HR if it exists with a birth date. Check in with your company as if anything they will probably just tag the annual leave onto the end of mat leave to keep the return to work date the same.

Thanks everyone I will have to speak to manager he seem to want me to use up my annual leave. I just wanted to start my maternity as late as possible.

I got paid for the annual leave I hadn’t taken, that’s another option. My leave had to be brought forward both times by a few weeks.

Yes, it does. My son was born 5 weeks early, 2 weeks before I was supposed to go on annual leave for 2 weeks before intending to start maternity leave itself at 39 weeks. My maternity leave started the day I gave birth (on a Monday, conveniently) and I was paid for the 2 weeks annual leave I missed.

My mat leave started the Monday before DD was born. She was born on the Thursday so it started on the Monday.
This is what was stipulated in the teaching Burgundy Book so might be different for you? Not sure though.