Maternity leave

[Holiday16]

Hi, I have been asked by my work to give them dates for going on maternity leave and returning back to work. I am only 17 weeks pregnant but assume they want provisional dates to sort the workload in advance.

I have 4 weeks holiday which I am trying to save, they say I can add the holiday onto the start or the end of my maternity leave. I'm hoping to work up until a few days before the birth or as long as I can as I can afford to be off long and would prefer to spend time off with baby and not before baby comes.

I thought the maternity leave had to start from the baby's birth date and any holiday had to be used PRIOR to this date. But work say different. Just wondered if anyone knew or had done it themselves? Thanks x

You can start maternity leave any time after 27 weeks I think it is. You can set the date you leave as your due date if you're brave. Entirely your choice. But they will need a date to plan around.

My maternity leave starts four days before baby is due but I have two weeks of leave booked before so I’ll be done at 37.5 weeks. Maternity leave can’t start any later than your due date but don’t underestimate how tired/fed up you might feel closer to the time especially if the summer is hot and it’s a slog getting to and being bothered with work.

When does your year go from
Annual leave wise? Mine is April - March.

I go on mat leave in September and have provisionally said I’ll go off a few days before my due date (did same with my first). I’m taking six months but the last month of this is annual leave (annual leave from mid feb until end of March). So I’ve got all my leave allowance to use then.

Thanks for your replies. I'm due end of October. My work are saying that the day I go off work (the week of my due date) I can use my 3-4 weeks holiday and then my maternity pay can start after the holiday has been used? I just thought I would've had to use my holiday before my due date

I'm going to try and be brave but may change my mind closer to the time!

I was under the impression that maternity leave automatically starts from the day the baby is born of it hadn't started already.

I think different employers have different policies. I am starting my maternity leave at 39+4 taking a full year off and then tagging on all the leave I have at the end of the maternity.

It sounds like your policy is more in line with my office’s.

Maternity starts from the day the baby is born.
I have three weeks holiday before my maternity starts a few days before my due date - if baby arrives early (ie in my holiday time) then my maternity starts from that date.
I wasn’t allowed to add mine onto next year and have to take it this year, before maternity starts.

I thought mat leave had to start from the day the baby is born (or earlier) not least because of how the pay is worked out. I have to take all my annual leave before mat leave starts but then I'll also accrue annual leave while I'm off and that will get added to the end.

You can start maternity leave any time from 29 weeks. If you are off with a pregnancy related illness from week 36 of pregnancy then leave will start from then. If work allows then you could use holidays just before leave starts e.g. you start maternity leave at 36 weeks but have 4 weeks holiday just before. Sounds like they would also let you use it at the end of maternity leave too so although you would be counted as being back at work you would be on holiday for the first few weeks.

P.s. you have until 25 weeks pregnant before you need to tell them when you want leave/ pay to start. Toy don't need to give then a return date at that point either as they should assume you are taking the full year off. You only need to give notice of your return (8 weeks) if you are returning before the end of a year

My maternity leave started on my c-section date. I had 4 days annual leave before that so worked right up.

I don't think they are right about the holiday thing going past the due date though as if you give birth maternity pay would start from then so you'd no longer be on holiday and they would owe you it back anyway

I’m due 20th October. I’ll have a couple of weeks annual leave to use, and I’ll need to use it before my mat leave starts as our holiday year runs April to March so I’ll be off for the rest of the holiday year.
You do need to use your holiday before your mat leave starts/the baby is born, as your mat leave will automatically start when your baby’s born, if it hasn’t started already.
I’m probably going to finish work around 36/37 weeks. Take two weeks holiday then maternity will start. If it’s before my baby arrives then so be it. My health is more important than a few more days of work, and I have an older child as well so I’m already knackered 😂

Your maternity leave cannot start after the baby has arrived, so if you take your leave first but go in to labour early, you'll automatically commence maternity leave.

It's an employer's discretion to carry holidays over to use after maternity leave if they fall into the next leave year.

My work "encourage" all leave to be used prior to maternity leave if you are returning too late to use it within the same holiday year, but this didn't work for me as I have 9 weeks of leave, meaning I'd have finished work at 31 weeks which wasn't something I wanted to do. So they've agreed to carry mine over to commence immediately after maternity leave.

Different places probably have different policies.... I've taken 4 weeks annual leave from 36weeks - 40 weeks then Mat leave. Got 2 weeks annual leave tagged on the end. If baby is born before 40 weeks then they will fiddle with the annual leave so I'm off for the same amount of time but Mat leave starts the day after baby is born.

Mat leave can start at 29 weeks at the earliest, and your due date at the latest. If the baby arrives before your due date, it starts automatically the day after baby is born.

As others have said, whether you have to use up holidays before or can carry over is up to your employer and their policy.