Accrued holidays when on maternity leave

[HolsOnML]

Hoping for some advice before I contact my employer.

I started ML the beginning of October, and had only used 10 days holiday since April and I know I'll have continued to accrue them while I've been off.

Can I request to be paid for them now, seeing as it's the start of a new financial year? Or can they refuse to pay me and insist they'll carry them over for me to take them at the end of my ML?

I'm not going back until October so there'll be another 6 months accrued already when I return.

I don't t think you can be paid for holidays while you are still on maternity leave.

Are you taking the whole year off? You could use the days to further extend your mat leave. Or return earlier than the year but immediately use holidays to stay off.

You will also accrue leave for this financial year too.

@HumptyDumpty2022 I don't have a contract, been there a long time now though, 15 years. We've always ran holidays from April-April.

@MadeForThis I don't want to use the holidays to extend my leave, I'd rather have the money for them to go towards to 3 months unpaid ML I'll have coming up, but just wondering if anyone knows for sure whether that's my choice to insist upon or they can refuse.

If they are expecting you to take the full year it would work in their benefit for you to take them at the end of your unpaid 3 months as you will return with no holidays for them to manage.

But technically you would return to work but then take holidays.

If you had 15 days left. You would return from maternity leave 3 weeks early but go immediately on holiday. There would be no difference for the business as ultimately you are still only off for a year.

If you took the full 3 months unpaid then you would still be off a year and then also have loads of holidays still to take. Most businesses are happy to let you return to work and take holidays within the final 3 months.

You cannot be paid holidays without returning to work so you couldn't take them earlier than this.

@MadeForThis ok thanks, sorry I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of it.

I was hoping I could request to be paid for them, and then 'lose' the days, what with accruing another 6 months worth before I go back, otherwise I'd have just 6 months (from October 2022 to April 2023) to use loads of holidays!

You can ask. I did and did get paid. My holiday year runs jan to dec. i took ml may to may. So in feb I needed money so asked to be paid out for the holidays related to the prior holiday year.

It was down to my manager but for the firm they either paid me for those holidays in fen or when I returned in may. The timing was that I needed the money in feb.