Work say I can’t carry over A/L to add onto maternity leave

[ALquery]

I work in local authority and my annual leave year is the same as the calendar year.

I’m pregnant and my baby is due in September, so let’s say my twelve months maternity leave would run from September-August.

Work are saying that I can’t carry over any of my 2024 annual leave allowance (to add on to the end of my maternity leave), bar three days. They are saying I have to use it all up before the baby is born in September.

I don’t think this is right, but they are adamant. Can anyone confirm if they are right please? Thank you.

This sounds spot on actually, I knew it didn’t feel right as a requirement.

You need to read the holiday policy and maternity policy. It will be written down clearly there - so whatever people think here about what's fair and not fair etc etc is moot. There is plenty of time between now and September though - I'm struggling to understand why you can't just take a nice holiday now?

I’m on my second pregnancy and with my first company they made me use the AL before baby so I took a month off before my due date (I was soooo bored but refused to loose the AL as they wouldn’t let me roll it over to after baby was born.

this time my new company are being fantastic (getting some enhanced maternity pay too) and letting me carry over ANY AL I have left….so I’m only using 4 days this year and transferring the rest to the end of my maternity leave so I can have another month off but will be back on full pay.
I think it’s all down to the company and wording in your contract but I totally agree with you that it’s rubbish they won’t allow you to tag it on to the end of your maternity leave when you would benefit from it more

Use it all up before maternity starts - I don’t see the problem? You can take time off before baby without starting your maternity leave. Win win situation.

Then whilst you’re off you will accrue holidays, use them to add on to the end of your maternity if you wish or use up as needed.

I’m sorry but I really don’t see the issue.

https://www.acas.org.uk/your-maternity-leave-pay-and-other-rights/holiday-and-maternity-leave#:~:text=Carrying%20over%20holiday&text=But%20if%20you're%20not,into%20the%20next%20holiday%20year

Also get your union involved

I used annual leave just before maternity leave kicked in - but delayed the start of maternity leave so in theory maternity just started later and finished later.

I am a teacher and a huge frustration for me is the fact that one if my mat leaves spanned the summer holidays, I was on SMT over the summer despite everyone else being paid. In Scotland some schools let teachers carry holiday over

I would contact ACAS to get their advice OP.

I think this is pretty normal for LAs. Some LA departments aren't allowing any carry over at all this year. The only time I've been able to carry over more than 3 days is when they've literally called me in on annual leave either for mandatory meetings or because of some crisis or other.

Can you ask that you start your maternity leave using holiday and then your official maternity leave starts at 40 weeks or even 41 (although I doubt they will let that)
then you would have the 3 days carried over plus what’s accrued when your off in 2025.

Use it at the start of your mat leave.

I started mat leave on my due date. I was on leave 3 weeks before.

Apologies if someone else has said this too. Just take your A/L when you would’ve gone on mat leave. Then start the mat leave straight after. For example if u were going on mat leave at 38 weeks have 4 weeks A/L & assume baby is born on ur due date.
U go on A/L for weeks 38&39. Baby is born. Then 2 more weeks A/L and then mat leave kicks in when baby is 2 weeks old. So effectively ure on A/L when the baby is born. That way u don’t have to finish earlier. U get paid all ur salary. Then A/L. Then mat leave and u return to work later (or use some of ur 2025 accrued A/L before u return)

I work for a LA too and for all of my maternity leaves I wouldn't have been allowed to carry over more than 5 days, same as everyone else. I just took my mat leave from the due date and then had a couple of weeks annual leave before. I did accrue all of the leave whilst I was off on mat leave which I was then allowed to take in one go at the end of maternity leave.

I am sure if you book them now you will be able to take them holidays at the start of your mat leave and then start your mat leave afterwards for example holidays from sept to August starting your mat leave in August therefore extending it a bit

it’s worth a ask they may have just worded it wrong in how they have put it too you but what they mean is you have take your holidays before the of THEIR financial year

speak to HR and ask them

Sounds right to me, I don’t think the rules around annual leave change because you’re pregnant.

Yes, it would.

I work is a LA and this is not correct I have carried mine over plus bank holidays! Contact a union rep of your not in the union you can pay the fee for this month and get representation straight away. There maternity policy should also be accessible on the web as it's available to the public.

• Save hard now.
• use kit days strategically
• a couple of weeks off pre birth is nice and lets you prep / organise for baby arriving.
• If mobility is good, plan some nice bits and try and catch up with people before baby arrives

honestly some women are fine but a lot find the last month very uncomfortable. I had one where the was walking hills at 39 weeks and a second where I winced thinking about walking up a flight of stairs. joint and nerve pain is unpredictable…

I’m currently on maternity leave as my baby was born in October. I had four weeks annual leave left before my due date (holiday runs April-March), and my employer carries all of this over, but I have to take it before I return. So my SMP runs out mid July, I then have to take the four weeks leave pushing my return date to mid August. This all came from HR and there was no push to take the leave before I left. I found this on the citizens advice website;

You build up holiday as normal while you’re on maternity leave.
If you can’t take your holiday because you’re on maternity leave, your employer should let you carry over up to 5.6 weeks of unused days (28 days if you work 5 days a week) into your next holiday year.

I think you should be able to carry it over.. hope this help!

@ALquery keen to know what you do that gives >36 days holiday a year?

ours would allow carry over of anything accrued after mat leave starts but would expect us to take anything already accrued in advance.

They are wrong.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/maternity-and-parental-rights/check-your-maternity-and-parental-rights/rights-while-pregnant-or-on-maternity-leave/rights-while-youre-on-maternity-leave/#:~:text=Holiday,into%20your%20next%20holiday%20year.

Posters saying “just take it at the start of the mat leave and push the mat leave back two weeks to the EDD, what’s the problem?” are missing the point that many women (esp if work is desk based) prefer to work as late as possible to maximise time with the baby!

I think OP’s employer probably can do this, though IANAL, but please don’t be dismissive of her concerns about it.

So the annual leave you have for this calendar year has to be taken in this calendar year except the permitted carry over - in your case three days (assuming you are part time or it would be five). If you are still on maternity leave from next January, your leave entitlement starts again and presumably you can add the new year’s leave onto the end of your maternity.

I stopped work at 37 weeks, used holidays up to my due date and then started mat leave. That used up 3 weeks. Then for 3-4 weeks before I took Wednesdays off using up another 4 days - splitting the week was a godsend when I was knackered. If you were to give birth early, mat leave would start then but then I think you’d have a pretty good argument to say they have to let you carry forward holidays because you couldn’t use them due to being on mat leave (can’t see many companies wanting that argument when you can demonstrate that you had a plan to use all your days)

You can usually only carry over whatever is over and above statutory leave entitlement, so for some people that's nothing. Just use it at the very end of your work period before starting mat leave and basically start your leave early. You've said it's 12 days and they say you can carry 3, so just start your maternity leave 9 days earlier. Win.