Maternity leave query! KIT days/holiday days

[TripleESept24]

Hi

I have a bit of a query re my KIT days and 8 days holiday I have remaining!

I have now done 8 of my 10 KIT days. My return to work (part time) is 1st May. This is also when our holiday refreshes. I have 8 days holiday left from this year.

My employer has said they will carry it over. Is it right you can't use it whilst on maternity I suppose? Wish I'd used it before I went off now really but never mind.

I have been going in the last month for 1 day a week. (Helping out too because another main member of staff in my department went to India for 3 weeks) I now have 5 weeks until my return to work and only 2 kit days left. So I'm just gonna have to spread those 2 kit days though April right? Maybe do one at the beginning and one at the end?

I'm going back part time, so my holiday entitlement will change but they have to carry those full 8 days over right because as of right now I'm on a full time contract!?

Can you not return to work 8 days earlier but use the annual leave? I'm officially back at work but instead of carrying my 20 days over I've used them as annual leave for the month.

Tbh I don't mind carrying 8 days over. I live in Nottingham and all my family in Cornwall so we do go away a fair bit, I'll not struggle to use them

Most people I know tack them onto the end of their mat leave but you don't have too. Your employer should carry them over, yes, the full 8 days as you have already accrued them in your full time hours, even though you were on mat leave. You should also have accrued any bank holidays from your mat leave as well.

Theres not much point taking annual leave if you're being paid for mat leave as the max they will pay you is one full day - for example they won't pay the statutory rate plus a full days annual leave, they'd just top it up.

So keep it and use at your leisure 😊 and check your bank holidays!

Hmmm yeh they've not mentioned bank holidays at all

I had my daughter during the pandemic and then took 12 months maternity so I had 60 days annual leave when I went back and found it really helpful to have the extra leave in the first year back, especially when we had child care issues.
You could delay you switch to part time and use the 8 days to do part time on full time wages for the first few weeks