Accruing Holiday Whilst on Maternity Leave

[Kaoru35]

Hi,
At the start of the holiday year in my holiday entitlement it showed around 44 hours (5.5 weeks) then as I work I accrued more. So far I have been payed for that and payed for what I have accrued so far.
But is it right that I will accrue more holiday whilst on maternity leave? then if so will I be able to still get it payed? as the holiday year ends in May and I don't come back off maternity leave until the New Holiday year in June.

Thanks

Yes you accrue holiday on Mat Leave. Whether or not you can have it paid instead of taking it will be down to your company policy - it should be available from HR...

You can't be paid for statutory holidays (unless you are on a casual/zero hours contract or your employment is being terminated). It's called buying out and it's not legal.

You should continue to accrue holiday throughout your maternity leave.

My holiday year is jan to dec. i returned in jan and my accrued holiday was added to that years allowance

Yes you continue to accrue leave whilst in Mat lave. You must then either use it or be paid for it.

Yes you accrue holiday, your rights on selling any would be the same as your usual contractual rights - eg at my employer we can sell or buy up to five days in a year. So I could still sell five days.

I used my holiday to officially return to work 6 weeks before I actually came back to work, with those six weeks all paid as annual leave. It was a nice way to extend my time with my little one! I've known others who used this annual leave to do a soft return to work at first, eg annual leave for 2 days a week for a few months.

Hi @Kaoru35. do you know what your entire leave year entitlement is?

you accrue annual leave during maternity leave as if you would had you not have been be absent. So whatever you accrue usually will still apply.

if your maternity leave spans across 2 holiday years, you will need to work out and talk to your employer about either carrying it over or taking it before/after your leave.

hope that helps x

Yes you will collect holidays whilst on mat leave, most either use them in the last month before returning or use them for a phased return (working 3 days and being paid for 5).

You will be entitled to holiday during your maternity leave. A lot of people return to work but start by taking the accrued leave so technically you have returned but on leave. Alternatively if your employer agrees they might pay you but that’s at their discretion if you remain an employee.

Ask HR. I used mine to do a phased return which I found super helpful.

Yes you will accrue leave during maternity leave.
With regards to pay I’m not sure if you have been clear what you mean. Legally you cannot be paid a lump sum for not taking your untaken leave. however you can take your leave after your maternity leave ends and be paid for it.

For example if you take 12 months maternity leave you will accrue 5.6 weeks leave (unless you get more under your contract). If your mat leave ends on 30 September you could take a further months paid leave or you could ask to take 2 days paid leave each week for x weeks to phase back into work.

You can't 'sell' statutory holiday allowance though, if your allowance is more generous than statutory you can sell/be paid for those holidays if your contract allows it but a minimum of 5.6wks must be taken as time off work.

No I have my basic entitlement which is around 44 hours/5.5 weeks (My contact is 8 hrs) which I have already been payed for. But I always work overtime so I always accrue more so it isn't a set amount. So I think I will have to ask if I can carry it over as I don't return until after the new holiday year in June 23. Thanks

Thanks to all who replied 🙂