Can employer make you take annual leave on dates they choose?

[Labracadabra]

I am currently on maternity leave, which started in Nov 2013. I used up all my 2013 annual leave entitlement before I started ML, so I have been accruing 2014 leave whilst I've been off. I get 24 days total for the year. I intend to return to work full-time on 1st Sept, but had planned to take a few days hol each week for the first 2 or 3 weeks (i.e. work a 2,3 or 4 day week for the first 3 weeks to ease myself and the children into the new routine!). However, my manager has requested that I take 2 weeks annual leave as soon as I return (i.e. actually not go back in to work until 15th Sept) as she thinks I have too much AL to fit in to the remaining part of the year, so she wants 2 weeks used up before I return to the office. I don't want to do this as I want to save some days for Xmas, random days off and unexpected childcare crises! Also we can carry over 5 days which I would like to do. Can she make me take holiday when I don't want to? Many thanks.

it seems so

and here

Thanks Hecate, the links are helpful. I do understand about being required to take annual leave during a Christmas shutdown (this was the case at my old workplace) however, the site isn't shut in this case. I am just being told individually when I have to take leave!

Ring ACAS they are great at this stuff.

Our leave year is split into three parts and we're expected to book a certain amount in each part, so leave is staggered across the whole year. I know plenty of people who haven't, for a variety of reasons so I'm pretty sure it's 'preferred' rather than 'required' iyswim. I guess it will depend what's in your contract as well.

Yes they can tell you when to take leave.

Yes they can

Taking 2 weeks off when you're returning in November seems very reasonable to me. It still leaves plenty for Xmas and some to carry over, if they agree

Have you given her a plan showing how your planning on using the leave?
If you:
Work 3 day weeks in Sept (5 week, so 10 days total leave)
Carry over 5 days
Take 5 days over the Christmas period

take leaves 4 days for Christmas shopping and unexpected illness in child.

I'd say thats reasonable, but maybe she hasn't actually added it up, and is just worried about you never being there?

I write this as a manager of a person who has booked 3.5 days of the 2014 allowance so far. I have just told him he can't take this weekends OT as TOIL, but it must be paid, but thats as fas as I've gone now, other than pointing out he really ought to take some time off.

But, yes, they can tell you when to take leave.

Great, thanks everyone for your help. Addicted, I will do as you've suggested and show my manager how I plan to use my holidays so she's aware I'll not be away half the time! Otherwise, I guess I will just have to suck it up! I just thought they'd get more out of me if I eased myself back into the work routine, going from nothing to 5 days per week will be a shock to the system, but I'll cope

Don't forget you're also owed the bank holidays which fell during your mat leave when calculating what you want to do.

They can tell you when to take annual leave but (and I'm no expert so check this out whether someone who knows), if have thought that you can't be treated differently from anyone else because of your mat leave.

So - if they tell other people when to take leave, they'll be fine BUT if they don't make others take it at specific times, they might be in dodgy ground for treating you differently...

But - check with someone who knows!

Yes your work can legally dictate when you take holiday and for how long. Yes they can insist that you take all of your accrued leave before you return to work!

Bank holidays are a sticky point. You are entitled to 28 days holiday per annum. If your work gives you 20 days holiday plus bank holidays then you are entitled to 28 days. If your work gives you 25 days plus bank holidays then you may not be entitled to the extra 3 days. It legally is very debatable and no one can give a clear answer!

If your work gives you 25 days plus bank holidays then you may not be entitled to the extra 3 days. It legally is very debatable and no one can give a clear answer!

I have to disagree there - I don't think it is particularly debatable, and hasn't been for a few years. Employees are entitled to accrue all statutory and contractual paid leave as though they were at work. Statutory leave for full timers is as you say 28 days, so anything above that is contractual. Contractual leave is also accrued, not just statutory. There is no indication that because some of those days might usually be required to take place on specific bank holiday dates, women on maternity leave should lose them altogether.

I don't know of any legal adviser of any description who would think it was sensible for an employer to deny holiday to a woman on maternity leave because she would normally be required to take those days on bank holidays. Anyone sensible would advise the employer to allow the woman to add it on to her total entitlement, and thereby ensure she gets the same paid leave as she would have done had she been at work.

Flowery, I've checked our policy and it says you're entitled to 28 days including bank hold. I get 24 days leave, and there will be two more bank hols in the remainder of the year after I return (Christmas Day and Boxing Day) so I guess that means I am owed two more days holiday to make it up to 28?

Thanks for everyone's replies btw!

But there are 8 bank holidays? So if you are entitled to 28 including bank holidays, that would normally be 20 "normal" holiday days. But you get 24 normal days. Does that mean you work 4 out of 8 bank holidays then?

Flowery, the maternity policy says that you accrue holiday whilst you're off up to 28 days total. Therefore if you're entitled to fewer than 28 days leave (I get 24 - it increases with length of service) then you get bank hols to bring it up to 28. If you're entitled to 28 days or more anyway (e.g. if you've been there donkey's years) then you're not owed any accrued bank hols. It seems they will give the legal 28 and not a day more.

I don't work bank hols

Your terms and conditions including contractual benefits are protected during maternity leave. If you are contractually entitled to a total of 32 days paid leave annually, they can't take 4 days off you because you are on maternity leave. That would be treating you less favourably because of maternity leave which is unlawful discrimination.

Really Flowery? It's a massive multinational company so I'd be surprised if they made a mistake like that, but it's possible! So you're saying if I usually get 32 days (24 plus 8 bank hols) then that's what I should get this year too? I will have to look at by contract as I reckon they've managed to get round it somehow.....

Don't be sure a massive multinational company won't make mistakes about maternity leave! I worked for a high street (& international) bank during my maternity leave and they 'forgot' to pay me my occupational maternity leave (ie the bit that I got as a function of my contract) and only paid me my statutory - it took weeks to get them to realise the mistake!

I used to work for Tesco, and if you didn't book your holiday by a certain date then they would allocate it to you - I also had problems with this on Maternity leave. They also made you book a year in advance - which was no help at all when trying to book school holidays off.