Annual leave entitlement & mat leave - any advice?

[Mummatron3000]

Was wondering if anyone had any advice for a situation affecting someone I work with.
She is due to go on mat leave, baby due mid April. Our annual leave year runs April-March. She was informed by HR that she can only carry over 5 days of her annual leave that is accrued during mat leave. As she was planning to take 52 weeks mat leave, this means she will lose holidays. The NHS trust we work for is unwilling to pay her for them.

While she could end her mat leave early but use her hols to stay off for the year- anyone else would be entitled to 52 wks mat leave plus their full annual leave entitlement.

It just feels like she's being discriminated against because of when her baby is due!

I actually supervise her, but as in recently back from mat leave myself she had been going through my manager- who hasn't been particularly supportive about this - just pretty much said that's HR's decision, accept it. It's not sitting right with me though and I want to seek further advice on how to address this for her. Anyone able to help?

She's entitled to take the holiday accrued. Acas publish a leaflet on it on their website but I don't know how to link sorry

'If a worker can’t take all of their leave entitlement because they’re already on a different type of leave (eg sick, maternity or parental leave), they can carry over some or all of the untaken leave into the next leave year.'

Taken from the government website:

www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/calculate-leave-entitlement

Your company cannot have a policy that undermines her legal right to carry over ALL of her leave. If she takes 12 months mat leave, then she will be unable to take the leave and as such, can carry it all over.

Its AL plus bank hols. Make sure that is included.

Is she a union member? Worth a call

Our holiday year runs September -august. I started my mat leave in august so will have accrued holiday over 48 weeks, it works out as 8 weeks, plus I accrue a further week while using my 8 weeks holiday. Its never occured to me that they would only let me take 3 weeks (ie. To the end of the holiday year) and that I would lose the rest. If you're entitled to take 52 weeks by law and accrue holiday while you do so, then how else are you supposed to take that holiday? I would speak to someone in hr asap and get everything in writing.

Info here She accrues her leave when on maternity leave. It used to be at least the statutory minimum but that's when I had to fight about this issue over 10 years ago so that might be out-f date now. But, yes, she accrues her leave.

This is the really stupid part if this rule. In theory one has to take all the leave before you go, which us a nightmare for workforce planning, and I can see how it improves NHS finances to make one take the leave pre rather than post mat leave.

Depending on her leave entitlement and notice period presumably she won't have time to get all her leave in. As I understood it you can appeal to your director for discretionary extra days to be carried over. This would sound like one such a circumstance. If not I would have a chat with the union.

Thanks for your replies, really helpful. No she's not in a union, unfortunately. She's at a stage in her pregnancy where she's tired and sore and not really up for dealing with this at the moment so was going to leave it for now until after she's had her baby - but it's pissed me off and I want to get it sorted for her. Bloody hate that our NHS trust purports to be a family friendly employer but is doing this

I can't see how it helps NHS finances, not I can. This case is a great example of how silly the rule is, with the leave year ending mid March.