Holiday Vs Maternity Leave

[Sugar80]

I'm having a dilemma over when to start my maternity leave. Currently due to start officially on 20th February, 1 week before the baby's due. I was going to take holiday that I've carried over/ accrued from 13th Feb, so my last day in work would be 10th Feb.

I wanted to leave things as late as possible, to get as much time at home with the baby as I can. However, there seems to be a trend in our families for babies to arrive a bit early.... does anyone know if employers are obliged to start your maternity leave as soon as the baby's born? So if it arrived 2 weeks early on 12th Feb, would I have to go straight on mat leave, thereby losing my holiday (as days carried over need to be taken by March in my company)?

Yes, I'm pretty sure the baby being born converts whatever leave you may be on - sick leave, annual leave, etc, to maternity leave automatically.

HR Manager here. Mat leave by law can start no later than the day after baby's birth. But regardless of your company's policy you should be able to keep any accrued holiday and use it at the end of your maternity leave, as well as any bank holidays that fall during your mat leave, as the law changed in this regard a couple of years ago.

Of course your company may say differently, but I'd say you'd have a case to challenge it if so.

Yes it does start your maternity leave. This is because the first two weeks of maternity leave are compulsory and your employers need to be able to demonstrate this. They will need a copy of the birth certificate and even if the time was previously listed as annual leave the birth certificate would prompt an update to maternity leave. Best advice is to make sure you've used your carry over leave before maternity leave kicks in or have a word with your manager to see if they will make an exception if you are unexpectedly early and let you take the leave at the end (but get that agreement in writing - email should be ok)

I had holiday booked up until about a week before DS was born - he came 11 days early and so my maternity leave started on the Monday after he was born (he was born on a Saturday). I was able to have the one or possibly two days added on at the end of my maternity leave.

Thanks all - confirms what I already thought. I might just look at leaving work a week earlier to be on the safe side...