Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

Original poster

Annual leave/ Mat leave question

8 replies

YouSetTheTone · 07/12/2018 10:55

Sorry if I’m being dim but I’ve seen some threads where people say they’re going on annual leave then starting their mat leave straight after.

My annual leave allowance for the year starts in January. I was thinking of going on Mat leave towards the end of March (due mid April). But could I use annual leave before I go on Mat leave?
I mean, I know I can use some - but is there a sliding scale of how much? Ie there’s only a proportion of your AL you can use by the first three months of the year?

I guess I should ask my HR contact but even though this is my third pregnancy in my previous work place I didn’t get any accrued leave during Mat leave or anything (although I know this is a separate issue - or is it? If you use up annual leave before you go then presumably you don’t ‘accrue’ so much while you’re off?) so I don’t know very much about this issue. I’d rather have some info before I go to them, if that makes sense...

Not sure if any of that made sense, sorry

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

iLevictoiChete · 07/12/2018 11:06

you should always accrue leave throughout maternity leave as if you were at work every day. they are not allowed to then say you 'lost' it due to not having time to take it.

you can take some annual leave before the baby arrives but you must be actually on maternity leave not annual leave from the day the baby arrives.

individual companies may have policies about how much time you can take when - we can't answer that - but they can't prevent you from having it.

so you could take 2 weeks of leave from say 25th march then have maternity leave officially starting on 8th April. assuming you want the maximum possible leave your last day of maternity leave would be 7th April 2020.

Assuming you get the standard 5.6 weeks leave you will have 3.6 weeks then carried over from 2019. some employers will let you have that in full at the end of maternity leave so you wouldn't return till 5th May 2020 but would get most of your normal salary in April.

NonaGrey · 07/12/2018 11:08

It will depend on you specific HR guidelines I think.

I saved most of my annual leave to take 20 days holiday before my mat leave started. I then accrued holiday while I was on mat leave and was paid for that during my last month of leave.

It entirely depends on your employmer though - you’ll have to check.

Original poster

YouSetTheTone · 07/12/2018 11:55

Thanks both. That's really helpful.
iLevictoiChete - I like your breakdown of the dates, I might well try and implement that!

OP posts:

Tini17 · 07/12/2018 12:54

Check with HR - you do accrue leave. We also accrue bank holidays so worth a check too.

LittleDoveLove · 07/12/2018 20:48

I'm just taking my 5 weeks at the end of mine so I only have a couple of months of no pay at all. I think others take it that have some left over from previous year. I only have 1 day left so unfortunately I don't have any to take before I go on mat leave.

5tarlight · 07/12/2018 21:07

At my place, and may be similar for you, you have to take or be paid for all the leave you accrue up to the point start mat leave, before starting it. But I couldn't take more than was accrued. So say for example I am staring mat leave at the beginning of April, so will have worked a quarter of the year. If I had 24days annual leave per year I have accrued a quarter of that, so 6 days. I could either take them as and when before I go off, or it take as a block right before mat leave (so go off before the end of March), or just be paid for them. But I couldn't take, say, 3 weeks off as haven't accrued them yet.
Then if I have a year off on mat leave I accrue a full year's annual leave plus all the bank hols, and take them when I get back. HTH

Original poster

YouSetTheTone · 09/12/2018 08:24

LittleDoveLove ah I see - yes at my place you have to use all your annual leave Dec-Dec so I can’t ‘save’ any from this year to use in March (if that makes sense). Just as well as I’ve used it all now! So if it’s a case of just using all the leave I accrue during Mat leave and taking it at the end so I’m unpaid for a little less as well then that’s what I’ll do.

Sounds like I need to check it all with them! The document I was given about the maternity package doesn’t talk about the AL situation.

I work part time (three days a week) so it’ll need to be worked out pro rata too... There’s something complicated about working part time and bank holiday allowances as well I think. Argh.

OP posts:

LittleDoveLove · 09/12/2018 09:19

It is quite complicated, I've had to ask HR a few times. Our policy we are allowed the year off plus our holidays we accrue. My director has to agree to me taking all at the end but it does make more sense than allowing to carry over so many days in to the following year (that would mean 10 weeks holiday the following year otherwise!) as I go on Mat leave in March and our holidays renew in April. If you are a member of a union I think you also get break in payments but not cover on maternity leave too. I'm about to look in to that.

Flip