Maternity leave/annual leave/sick leave

[Confusedaboutitall]

So I've been on maternity leave since end of December last year, only paid SMP. On ordinary mat leave right now and my last SMP was end of September. I have been unwell for the past year but all a bit of a mysterious illness until recently, had surgery a couple weeks ago and require a second surgery, have my pre-op assessment in a couple weeks. Don't have confirmed dates for next surgery but told it'll be soon because it's urgent. But what is soon according to the NHS, I don't know... they said within a couple months last month but they can't confirm anything. I am still unwell, prescribed morphine etc, and my job is quite physical. Obviously I won't be able to return end of this month. However I will have accrued a whole year's worth of annual leave as our annual leave runs from 1st January. At work we only have SSP, SMP etc, no company benefits iyswim.

From reading online, it appears I'm not entitled to SSP because it's based on pay from the last 8 weeks and I have been unpaid since 30th September. However, won't they have to pay me the whole year's annual leave end of this month?After that my average earnings would be well over the minimum for SSP. So would I be entitled to SSP after all? My company doesn't have a HR and almost a one-man show, so I want to get my facts right before I email them.

I'm also concerned as my company have been particularly difficult as regards to my pregnancy, and last thing I want them to think is I'm trying to milk even more money out of them, as they have already acted like I've been so audacious for daring to get pregnant! But at the end of the day these surgeries are necessary and I need to be able to recover before I can return to work. Money is tight after so long off work so SSP would be better than nothing.

Any advice appreciated!

Meant to say I'm on additional materity leave, not ordinary. Gosh, I am so tired and been up late trying to figure it all out!

Can't you book a months annual leave on the end of your maternity to use it up AND get paid

”However, won't they have to pay me the whole year's annual leave end of this month?”

They pay you your holiday when you take it- are you now ‘back’ from maternity leave and on annual leave instead?

Many women bring their maternity leave to an end early and book to take their accrued annual leave for the last few weeks of their time off instead, so that they get paid for those weeks and don’t end up with loads of holiday they need to take during the few months after their maternity leave. Have you done that? Or are you still on maternity leave at this point?

Are you not supposed to take the annual leave rather than get paid an amount for it? Could you add the annual leave onto the end of your maternity leave so you get paid for it at that point?
You might be able to apply for ESA if you don't qualify for SSP

I'm still on maternity leave, not annual leave. My maternity leave ends at the very end of this month. But annual leave refreshes on 1st January so I was thinking they would have to pay all the annual leave they owe me for this year.

I've been off since end of December and I wasn't allowed to book annual leave after my ordinary maternity leave, so that's why I have all this year's annual leave still.

Many companies would allow you to carry over the unused AL entitlement to the next leave year and for example require you to take it as a block before you come back from mat leave, so that when you start back at work you dont have double your entitlement. You need to ask for you companies annual leave / maternity /paternity policy and see what they say.

Look at your maternity policy......it will advise you far better than MN can

”But annual leave refreshes on 1st January so I was thinking they would have to pay all the annual leave they owe me for this year.”

No, you need to take it. Unusual for an employer to refuse a request for holiday straight after the end of maternity leave as this is normally much more convenient- otherwise the person comes back to work and has two years of annual leave to fit into one calendar year (assuming you didn’t take a chunk before you went on maternity leave, which is the other thing some people do).

I would suggest you try again with that, and say “I’ve got a year’s worth of annual leave to use up. Although it’s late notice, wouldn’t it be more sensible for me to take it now rather than come back and then have all that holiday to use?”

Hopefully even though it’s late notice to end your maternity leave, they’ll see that it’s sensible and allow it.

I’m in a similar situation and have all of 2021 annual leave to take next year as due back to work in Jan. our policy is that you have to take it within 3 months of return so I’m taking the whole of Jan off and then using the rest to only work 3 days a week for 8 weeks, a kind of phased return but on full pay

Maternity protection means you acrrue the annual leave. it doesn't restart in Jan. Remember to add the bank holidays on top of this.
EG I ended by maternity leave in 20th December then used 25 days of annual leave accrued. that meant I was paid for January and February and still had 28 days left to use :)

You can request to use al instead of sick leave. Are you able to work in any capacity short teem. Could gp provide a sick note for adjustment to your duties?