ACCRUING HOLIDAY BEFORE/DURING MATERNITY LEAVE AND ROLL OVER

[elizabethtailored]

I am about to tell HR I am pregnant but wanted to be sure as to exactly what I am entitled to before doing so and am confused.

My holiday year runs from Jan - Dec and I have 25 days plus bank hols and co. shuts down between Xmas and NY.

My baby is due on 1st May so I will only have accrued 8 days hol by this date. Can I take my year's hol before I actually start ML ie. finish 1st April and use holiday even though I have not actually yet accrued it all?

My company only let us role over three days holiday so I cannot see how else I take it? Or I would I be paid for it monthly as it is accrued?

Would be very grateful for some advice please.

If you haven't accrued it I don't think you're entitled to have it in advance, but it accrues throughout your ML.However now you can take it before you start or after your ML has ended if I remember rightly. Used to be you had to use all ML first then take AL.

But have a good chat with HR & get them to write you a letter with all the options so you can go away & digest..that's what they're there for!

You should be able to take all Holiday days for the year, incluing BHs, before your mat leave, as long as you are off the remainder of the year. You dont have to tell work how long you will be taking off they must presume and prepare for you to take your full entitlement.

So, you get 33 days (25 hol, 8BH), which you could take off in the month before D.Date, start mat leave on 1st May, take 52 weeks off, then, on your return, add on the amount of leave/BH accrued in the first few months of 2013. If you want to take full entitlement, that is.

Thank you so much for the responses. My HR dept have asked me to take the year's annual leave (25 days) before I start ML - I do not have the option of using it at the end of ML. Am not sure I want to be at home on my own for 5 weeks. Also - they said that I should start ML at least a week before the baby is due as if baby arrives while I am using holiday I will automatically lose all the remainder of this. Which means at least 6 weeks at home.

Does this sound about right/standard please? Thanks.

Your HR department are making sure you take it all before mat leave so you don't lose out. If you don't want to take it all in one chunk, why not take a week or so earlier in the year, and maybe some odd days as well?

Ultimately you can't insist they allow you to carry it over until after your mat leave.

Yep, what your HR say is how it worked with me too.

I decided to start maternity leave 2 weeks before my due date (he was 10 days early so it's a good job I did) I had 2 weeks before this as annual leave, I also had a couple of random weeks and the rest I used up by taking 1 day a week for my last few weeks. I knew I'd be tired in the last few weeks and the long weekends were going for getting things done. It also meant there was less of an impact on work than if I'd taken whole weeks off.

Thank you very much flowery. I just wanted to make sure this was the norm. Shall start looking for a last babymoon holiday after Christmas in that case!