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Original poster

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

159 replies

ALquery · 26/03/2024 13:43

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.

OP posts:
Ohiwish12 · 31/03/2024 09:35

Unfortunately you can't carry over almost 2 years of holiday as much as it would be so much easier financially. But you'll still have the best part of 2025 leave plus 5 days by the sounds of it from the 3 days c/F and the 2 BHs. In all honesty you'll probably want to take some time off before baby comes between now and September and just before 💐

DappledThings · 31/03/2024 09:48

Ohiwish12 · 31/03/2024 09:35

Unfortunately you can't carry over almost 2 years of holiday as much as it would be so much easier financially. But you'll still have the best part of 2025 leave plus 5 days by the sounds of it from the 3 days c/F and the 2 BHs. In all honesty you'll probably want to take some time off before baby comes between now and September and just before 💐

My place does allow you to do exactly that. Some women have come back with carry over from their year before maternity leave, all of the year of that leave plus the next year's allowance and had a huge amount.

I took a full month of leave on full pay after my first and still had 53 days left to take in the existing year.

Ohiwish12 · 31/03/2024 09:55

@DappledThings wow that's very lucky! Must be hard for the employer unless they can extend the mat cover time. I guess it just depends on each company employee but I know in the LA I work in your expected to take your AL in the leave year except the leave year your actually on maternity leave.

Pipeskeepleaking · 31/03/2024 10:51

I think your work is wrong and that annual leave years don’t apply in the same way during MAT leave. I think they can say that you need to be up to date when you go on leave, but whatever you accumulate on mat leave can then be taken at the end.

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 31/03/2024 11:06

I used my KIT days in the unpaid portion of mat leave, spaced out so that I got approx the same pay as on paid mat leave.

springtome · 31/03/2024 15:50

They are right. But you will have your 25 leave to use in 3/4 months so just use that. If they allowed this, you would have two years allowance to use in such a short period.

RidingMyBike · 31/03/2024 15:54

Surely a lot of owed leave is a financial liability for the employer too? We have to report on leave accrued but not yet taken at the end of the financial year as it's another liability.

springtome · 31/03/2024 15:58

springtome · 31/03/2024 15:50

They are right. But you will have your 25 leave to use in 3/4 months so just use that. If they allowed this, you would have two years allowance to use in such a short period.

Lougle
They are right. They can stipulate when you should take the leave, as long as they give sufficient notice. They are saying that they would like you to take all of this year's AL prior to maternity leave. That's fine. It is within their rights. They can't disadvantage you because you are pregnant, but if they wouldn't let a non-pregnant employee carry over large amounts of AL, they aren't disadvantaging you.

It’s an interesting one for sure. I wonder when the cut off would be. Let’s say baby was due in May… would all 2024’s leave have to be taken Jan-April?!

Oh well I shall look forward to a summer with my feet

My annual leave year ran April to Mar. My DD was due to be born early May 09. If I took 52 weeks off and came back in May 10 the following year, I wasn't allowed to carry over the annual leave from 09/10. I didn't have time to take the leave in April 09 before May leave. I ended up having to start May leave at 29 weeks in Feb 09 so I 'returned' in Feb 10 and took all my leave until 31 March 2010, returning when my DD was 11 months old. That was a little unfair, but I accepted those are the rules of maternity leave and if I wanted to take 52 weeks PLUS Mat leave, that it what had to happen.

Your baby is due mid year so you can easily take leave before and after.

Itsreallynotdifficult · 31/03/2024 17:36

I’m pretty sure you can carry it over cause by the time you go on may leave you technically haven’t accrued the holiday for September to December yet. In fact the CAB website does say if you can’t take AL because you are on mat leave, your employer should let you carry over up to 5.6 weeks of unused days into your next holiday year. However if they are being unreasonable and want you to take it early you can just delay the expected start date of your mat leave, as I’m assuming you will go on mat leave a couple weeks or so before baby is due, so just start it with holiday. It’s the same amount of time off over the whole period whether you take the holiday at the start or at the end. If baby is then born before within your holiday days though and your mat leave has to then automatically start, it still goes back to the fact you were unable to then take those days holiday and they have to let you carry them over and you can take on the end. Not sure why they’re being this way about it as you will still have the same number of days off in holiday or maternity leave regardless whether taken before or after 🤷🏼‍♀️

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