Teacher's maternity pay/holiday pay

[dinkyboysmum]

cross posted as need some advice...
i'm a teacher in an independent school and baby is due at end of july. i'd like to go on maternity leave at end of june. school are offering me the statutory maternity pay arrrangements, i.e. 6 weeks at 90%, then SMP. But my query is this...what happens to my holiday pay? if i were not having a baby i would have july/august at 100% pay...why should i lose this just because i'm having a baby? do i have any rights here? as a teacher, doesnt my contract run september-august, therefore i have worked all year, so am entitled to holiday pay? any advice welcome!

Bumping for you.

I don't think it works like that. Teachers are salaried and pay is for the 39 weeks but evened out over the 52. This means that maternity pay starts on the first Sunday of whenever you take maternity leave irrespective of holidays. It can work the other way, and say you chose to take a year off, you could choose to return for the last 2 weeks of summer term and be paid for the holidays.

If you want to do that you've got to go back for a day at the start of the term. Which you can't do if the baby is being born in July!

I was in a similar position to you - twins born in August - wanted to start maternity leave from September but was told Mat pay has to start when the babies are born, can't be later (though obviously can be earlier).

My 1st baby was due 12 August so I just worked until end of June and stated that I intended to go on mat leave on the Saturday before the due date so I still got normal pay until then. In state schools you get 13 weeks full pay or maybe 90 % For every holiday week you miss on mat leave, you get 2 full days in return that you can take later. At least thats the case in Scotland.

what heated said
i asked my friend who is an employment solicitor

it worked well for me this time
I started maternity leave on 1st september and gave birth a week later but had had 7 weeks off

you dont get anything in repayment for the holidays you miss in England

Also - what you get
4 weeks full pay
2 weeks 90%
12 weeks half pay plus smp
then smp only up to the 39th week of maternity
hth

also - you dont have to start onb a sunday anymore
I started on a monday but you can start on any day that you like

however i dont know how it works in the independent sector

but your maternity leave will kick in on the day the bbaby is born if you are not yet on maternity