Can you take holiday before you take your maternity leave but after you baby has been born?

[TheCrunchyNutter]

Hello,

This is sort of theoretical and I believe I'm pushing my luck but:

Work's enhanced maternity package pays 6 weeks full pay then 6 weeks half pay then SMP.

My question is do you have to start your maternity pay straight when your baby is born or could you take the first 2 weeks straight after birth as holiday and then start maternity leave - meaning you'd end up with 8 weeks at full pay (2 weeks holiday followed by 6 maternity) then 6 weeks half pay then smp?

If not can you take holiday when getting SMP so as to top it up to full pay?

I'd rather not take lots of time off just before the birth.

Afaik (and certainly at my firm) ml has to start at the latest the day the baby is born. I was still on al when ds was born as he was early so they started the ml from the day he was born and paid me the extra days holiday I couldn't take. I don't think you can take it at the same time as smp but you do accure holiday while you're on ml so you can tack it on the end of your ml - I ended up being off for 13 mths by using 2wks al before birth and 2wks at end of ml

www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1080902982&type=RESOURCES

Lindsell is correct :)

Lindsell is right.

You don't lose your holiday. You could either ask for pay in lieu of untaken holiday, or take the holiday before you start maternity leave, or at the end of your maternity leave before coming back to work (with agreement from your employer).

Thanks for the replies.

What happens though if you haven't taken all of your holiday before your maternity leave starts, but by the end of your leave you will be in the next holiday year (can only carry 5 days over)?

In that case do you just lose your holiday days?

As long as they give you adequate opportunity to take your holiday your employer can enforce it's normal carry-over rules if it wishes.

So in your case I'd suggest you speak to your employer, ask if they are prepared in this instance to waive the carry-over limit, and if not, ensure you book your holiday before you go on leave.

Flowery, someone in work recently advised me that recent cases mean that the normal carry over rules regarding leave don't apply in cases of maternity or sickness. Is this incorrect?

No. If, for example, you give birth before the official start date of your maternity leave, your maternity leave is brought forward to start the day you give birth. It is compulsory to take 2 weeks maternity leave from the date of birth of your baby, so the default start date for any maternity leave is the day your baby is born, unless you have chosen an earlier date to stop work.