Mat leave and bank hols

[superstaary]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could help me with an issue about ML and accrual of bank holidays. I was recently made aware that one of my colleague's who is on ML had queried her maternity pay with HR as it was more than she expected. When she call HR she was told there was a payment for bank holiday included, hence it being more than expected. She queried a previous maternity leave when she hadn't received any payment for bank holidays and was told that it wasn't generally paid then but she did get a back dated payment for the first ML in 2010.

I was also off on ML in 2010 and didn't get any BH payment or accrual of leave - I queried it yesterday with HR and was told that accrual of BH leave was only added to relevant policies in 2012 and before that it wasn't company policy so that's why I didn't get it. I have looked at employee handbook and maternity policy from that time, and there is nothing in there that mentions BH specifically, it just generally refers to" leave" e.g "Your annual leave will continue to accrue during your maternity leave......................."

Can my work claim that as there was no specific reference to BH accrual in the relevant documents and that it wasn't company policy at that time that I wasn't entitled? Trying to draft a response that is clear about my rights but doesn't upset HR and I'm stuck!

Just to make sure that your statutory rights aren't also engaged:

How many days a week do you work?
What is your annnual holiday entitlement?
(Please show BH seperately, e.g. 20 days + 8 BH)

Hi Marie

I work 5 days entitlement is 30 + 9BH

9BH? Do you work in Scotland?
I don't suppose you work for the NHS do you? (That would be too easy).

I've just got back pay from the nhs (Scotland) trust I worked for in 2008 to cover the public holidays I wasn't allowed to accrue and didn't receive pay for. There was a unison email in the summer about it as BHs are a contractual benefit and therefore must continue through ML

You were entitled to accrue all your paid holiday (regardless of the fact that some of it was normally supposed to be taken on specific bank holidays) for your maternity leave. Not to be paid it, to accrue it as leave.

Don't know why you're worried about upsetting HR!

The claim would have been for pregnancy/maternity related discrimination but you are out of time for that. However as they've obviously accepted they were in the wrong and paid out what is effectively some compensation for that to one person, you have a strong argument that they should do the same for you.

Are you in the union?

Hi Everyone

Marie i dont work in the NHS but I am in Scotland.

Flowery, I would have been happy to take the days at the time but I was never made aware of it - the policy didn't mention bank holidays at all. At the time I had quite a bit of correspondence with HR on carrying forward holidays with specific worked examples with my holiday allowance/circumstances - at no point in these emails did the various HR people mention my right to accrue BH. Does this ommission change the position on time limits do you think?

I'm not in the Union any longer - I was previously but TBH my union rep was really not very good when I had an issue years ago so I just left.

I have been told my my manager that HR has said I must raise a grievance and that they are sticking with the "BH accrual was not company policy before 2012" line.

Re: the person that has been paid - I don't really want to mention her by name in my conversations as I don't think she was meant to have said and dont want to raise any issues for her but I guess if thats maybe the only way to get anywhere I might have to.

Just to also add the policy was changed in 2012 and I know of one person who got a letter saying that company policy had changed and she was entitled to accrue BH! There are several others in my team who are also challenging this........

Thanks