Maternity rights with accrued holiday - is this really right?

[Bitlost64]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to put this but I'm puzzled over maternity leave.

I currently work full time. When I come back from my leave I will be doing two days per week. I've been told all my holiday accrues from the year I'm on leave, which is 35 days.

This means that technically I could take off the first four months past my mat leave, while being paid for 2 days a week, I think? Do people actually do this? On the one hand it would help me out of a hole as the wait list for my nursery means I can't get them in for 18 months. On the other, it seems unfair on the company to take another 4 months off, paid! But then if I didn't do that I don't know how I'd even use up all this holiday, I'd have to take a day off a week for 35 weeks anyway?

Does anyone have experience of this? Is it 'done', or considered ethically dubious? I don't want to be a troublemaker but if it's an acceptable thing to do it would solve my current childcare issues.

Yes it is true and a lot of people extend their maternity leave with accrued holiday. As you say it would be hard to take otherwise. And it’s usually easier for company than if you take in stubs and drabs because they may be able to keep your maternity cover on.

Most companies have a way they like annual leave to be managed to manage impact on business. Most women i know tag all the annual leave on the end of mat leave, so for example i took 6 months mat leave, plus an extra 4 weeks annual leave so i went back to work after 7 months.

Some women i know use annual leave to officially stay at full time but working 3 days and using 2 days annual leave a week.

You need to speak to your employer

I think you need to discuss this with your manager. It seems more likely that the expectation would be you would take your leave full-time at the end of your mat leave (so take another 7 weeks off) and then go part-time after that, but they might also let you do what you're suggesting.

I did this, it was great! The other alternative some people do is to take their leave whilst full time so that they get paid full time rate, and then reduce to part time hours at the point they actually return to work - but obviously that uses the leave a lot quicker. If you can afford to go down to part time pay straight away then it's a lovely way to extend your maternity leave.

Where I work you would have to take it straight after maternity at your old hours, so you would get paid as a full time worker until holiday ran out. Then you'd swap to PT.

I’d delay your change to 2 days a week.

So you come back from maternity leave “working” full time for 7 weeks but you’re actually on annual leave, and getting paid full time.

Then change to 2 days a week when you’re actually in work.