Holiday/Maternity Pay STRUGGLE

[PettyPrincess]

Will try to keep it short ....

Employer made a mistake when I went on maternity leave and paid me 25 days holiday upfront for the holiday I would accrue while on leave.

I brought this to their attention and they gave me two options, pay it back or leave it as it is and just accrue it. My now ExDP had just lost his job so we kept the money.

Fast forward a few months and due to my then DP having an affair whilst I was pregnant, kicking me out and spending all my savings leaving me in a Mother & Baby Hostel without a car or a pot to piss in I am in a sticky situation.

I planned to go back to work part time and my mum was going to watch the baby. Now I have no car and am living further away (and mother has become ill) this job is impossible to return to. I have worked out I will owe them 4 days holiday as of when my mat pay ends and when I plan to hand my notice in to be able to try and claim some sort of money to help me get by temporarily.

I know they can stop the 4 days from my final pay (I believe) but my final stat mat pay won't cover the money....so do they stop multiple pay cheques (I get paid weekly £147.50)

Any help will be much appreciated....

If you have been off for a year you are entitled to your statutory allowance of 28 days, so actually they are 3 days short. You are still entitled to be paid your accrued holiday even if you don't go back, so it maybe that they actually owe you money.

Thank you for your reply @Lonecatwithkitten

I have only been off 8 months which is why I believe to owe them money. The 39 weeks paid leave.

Now I'm a single parent I can't afford to take off the extension with no pay as I have no other income accept child benefit.

Any reasonable company would allow you to pay back in instalments, given that you have been off on such a low income for 8 months (and also the significant change in your personal circumstances). Not many people can afford big repayments in one hit. Can you explain your situation to them and find some way of paying it back over an agreed period of time?

This is my plan @siantwinmum I have arranged a meeting with them in October to explain everything. Because I'm really sad about having to leave too, I would love to go back once I've got myself sorted with somewhere to live and a car again.

What is an acceptable amount of time in your opinion.... a year....6 months?

@PettyPrincess it depends how much it amounts to. 6 months sounds reasonable. One year is too long in my opinion, but it depends how nice your employer is and what you can afford. The problem is if you leave, they might expect you to just stop paying it back. But if you're leaving on good terms you should be ok x

"Now I'm a single parent I can't afford to take off the extension with no pay as I have no other income accept child benefit."

How will leaving your job help you though? Do you have another job to go to?

@flowery I can't physically get to this job anymore due to how far away it is without a car. I am currently looking for work nearer to home but will need to claim some sort of help in the meantime as my paid maternity leave is coming to an end.

Yes I get that you can’t actually do that job, but you still have 3 months maternity leave you can take, so that you don’t owe them any holiday pay back, while you’re looking for something else?

I’m assuming if you voluntarily give up your job, you’re not going to be able to claim any benefits, although I may be wrong about that.

@flowery unless I'm wrong you don't get paid for the last 3 months so I would have £80 a month CB to live off. Or is that not the case?

Or can I claim some help while employed?

No that’s correct, however as I said, I’m assuming you won’t get any benefits if you choose to leave your job, therefore I would assume that staying employed until your maternity leave runs out or you find a new job would be better, as at least you won’t owe your employer money.

Right I'm with you @flowery sorry it's very early on no sleep with a teething baby!

I guess I'm gonna have to have a long chat with them and try and work something out. I was there a long time so hoping we can sort it

Do check the benefits situation. As I say, I’m assuming voluntarily giving up your job means you won’t get anything but I may well be wrong, as I basically know nothing about benefits!

My understanding is if you leave a job you won't be eligible for benefits for awhile anyway if that is the case remain employed the alternative is speak to your employer about the situation they may write off the debt.

If you get a car can you return to that job is there any possibility of you getting a car in the next unpaid maternity period so you could still return to work?

Speak to CAB about your benefits

Sorry that's happened to you btw

This won't be popular but... Could you 'return' on paper and get signed off by a Dr for the stress of your home life and be paid sick pay at least for a short time. I would never advocate this usually but your circumstances are extreme and it'll buy you some time, meaning you get a small amount of sick pay (not sure of your allowance), you'll accrue employee rights and leave during that time and you can look for another job to minimise the period.

You can claim Universal Credit. Put the claim in now asap. While you're getting the last bit of maternity pay you might not get much but as soon as you have a month with no earnings declared by your employer to HMRC your UC payment will increase. You'll be assigned a work coach (in my area they're really good but we've been full UC for ages so they're well trained) talk to them about the impact quitting your job will have. On the old style JSA there was a qualifying period if you left a job voluntarily but not sure if it's the same on UC. You can use those 3 months to look for a new job though and then hand your notice in at the last possible moment

Thank you all so much. I have made a universal credit claim and have an appointment next week!

I just can't afford a car atm. The car I had was my Ex's and I used this for work as he worked locally where we lived.

It's been a super stressful horrible time but I just need to stay positive. I have an amazing baby and can be proud that I've done it all alone with everything considered!