Maternity leave, holiday entitlement and employer who doesn't follow the rules

[happygonicky]

Hello hello,

Wonder if anyone can help me with this - it's going round and round in my head! My employer has no compunction in not obeying employment law.

I'm pregnant and due 6th January. I'm hoping to take a year off (from mid-late December), which takes me to mid-December 2013. I understand that I'll accrue holiday entitlement over the course of my maternity leave (30 days) and that people often take this before their maternity leave starts. Our holidays run from Jan to Jan though so I won't be able to take holiday before my maternity leave begins because I won't have enough time before the baby arrives and maternity leave kicks in (I have no holiday left for 2012 due to getting married earlier in the year!). I could take the holiday after maternity leave but I'm worried they'll find a way of not paying it to me. You see, I'm not sure I'll go back. If I leave, do they have to pay me accrued holiday pay or could they refuse and make me work it?

I have a three-month notice period, whereas they only have to give me a month's notice (I tried negotiating this at the time but I was pretty desperate and only got them to concede that they would come to a reasonable compromise re notice period). Am I right in thinking that if I decide not to go back, I need to give them three months notice? I worry that if I say I'm leaving, they won't pay me the holiday pay - would I have any recourse? Any suggestions as to how to play this?

The company has form for being taken to tribunal for constructive dismissal (a couple of times that I know of) and has made people redundant without following the right procedures. Also, no HR department and my manager has already given me hassle over taking time off for hospital and Dr appointments.

Help would be very much appreciated!

If you leave they will have to pay you holiday accrued and not taken. You will need to give your usual contractual 3 month notice period, yes.

If they refuse to pay you your entitled holiday you will have recourse in a tribunal but there's not a lot you can do except deal with it at the time if that's what they do.

Thanks, Flowery. Very much appreciated.

I have this worry too. I understand annual leave accrues pro rata while on maternity leave, but does that include the notice period or do they stop counting once you've handed in notice? I'm dreading telling then I'm not going back but they need to pay me a few more weeks pay, they will find a way out of it.

So thinking about this, to stand the best chance of getting the holiday pay might be to go off on maternity leave at the beginning of December, take a year which takes me up till December 2013, then take the 30 days holiday so I'd (theoretically) start back at work at the beginning of January 2013. That way I'd be using the holiday entitlement inside the year it's accrued (which I would presumably have to do anyway; that could be a reason they wouldn't pay it to me).

Thank you again for any help!

ThreeWheelsGood, hope someone can help you answer that question!

Am bumping this in the hope that the uber-helpful Flowery sees it!

ThreeWheelsGood - holiday should accrue throughout notice period, but it only has to up to the statutory minimum holiday requirements, anything over and above this is down to the company policy/discretion I believe.