Sickness and annual leave

[pzyck]

I'm due to return to work from maternity leave next month and have had a meeting with my line manager. Unfortunately I still have postpartum health issues which I am receiving support for, and my GP is willing to sign me off until I am fit to return to work.

During my meeting I provided full disclosure around my current health status/history and my GP's opinion. My line manager stated I had a reasonable amount of annual leave accrued and said I could just tag this onto the end of my maternity leave instead of going sick.

Extending my leave with annual leave was always my plan anyway, but the way my line manager proposed it to me suggested that they wouldn't acknowledge the fact I wasn't fit to return to work. Either way I'm not safe to perform my role as it stands currently but I feel like this is a bit of a sly way of them getting my annual leave entitlement down at the same time as not having to entertain paying sick pay.

This is not legal.

That would mean if a woman took a year's maternity they would lose all their annual leave which they cannot do. If they came back from maternity in December say, then all annual leave accrued during maternity needs to be carried over to the next year. Even if it crosses 2 leave years.

I don't understand why you didn't address it at the time with your Manager? You were in a room with her precisely for that reason. Why were you not honest about wanting OH involved etc.?

If you're sick then sick leave is appropriate. If you are not already in a union I suggest you join.
They should not be penalising you for being sick. If you can't use your annual leave due to sickness I think they would be in hot water for not compensating you either by carrying it over or paying you.

In essence, I’m not really sure why it makes a difference when the OH involvement is triggered, only that it is triggered when appropriate.

If you ‘return to work’ ending your ML, but are signed off sick by your GP, then it will trigger OH when you are eventually fit enough to return. You get whatever adjustments needed and still have your AL to use up.

Or, you extend your ML by using up AL, and then you ‘return to work’ but are still unwell, so signed off sick, triggered OH and getting the adjustment you need when you are eventually fit to return. You don’t have the accrued leave to use up.

Or, you extend your ML by using up AL, you are no longer sick so return to work, you don’t need OH involvement.

Using up mat leave, then annual leave, then going onto sick leave, would imply that the OP was not sick during her annual leave. But she is. So the leave used should be that.