Please can someone explain accrued annual leave whilst on maternity leave to me like i am 5?

[tinseltits21]

My company's A/L year runs from 31 March to 1 April and I am going on maternity leave 16 April 2026 and returning 16 April 2027. I am entitled to 25 days plus BH. Does that mean that in the year I return I have double the annual leave to use? I am so confused!

That is correct, you still get all your annual leave and as the timings have fallen you get effectively 2 years worth upon return. Only caveat to this is if you return before 31st March and change hours on your contract this will slightly change your allowance.
It could be worth looking into using some to extend your leave for example getting another month or so off work at the end of your maternity leave paid. My employer let me do this, I used some for an extra month off paid and then used some days to have a phased return over two months.

In short, yes.

You will accrue AL for the year you are off. What you do with it depends on each employer. Some will have timescales for it to be used or they won’t want you carrying it over for ever. Others may not care.

Quite a few people will simply take the first 5 weeks off after maternity ends and then carry on as normal when they return with 5 weeks AL for the current year.

Oh wow, I thought it was too good to be true and that i had misunderstood. So even though it's the previous year's A/L I still get to use it? That's so good!

Yep!

You can then choose how to use it - generally I used it to "return to work" but be on annual leave for a month so I was actually getting my salary. Others I know have used it to be "part time" but be paid ft salary for several months.

It's worth discussing with your LM about what they will accept.

Most people add the extra accrued A/L onto the end of their maternity leave, or use it to ease their transition back into work. So first few weeks use leave and do less hours to get back into the swing of things

Yep. It's true.
I'm accruing leave on sick leave too (for cancer)

I know someone who did the the FT salary but worked 3 days a week to settle baby into nursery whilst accruing more leave over that 2.5 months. Then her husband went on 6 weeks holiday (teacher) and in all that time they transitioned together inc the baby.

This is what ChatGPT is for. And if you still don’t understand ask it to explain a different way

I had 2 April babies. I got paid for the leave accrued whilst I was off (needed the money more than the extended leave.)

Yes you are entitled to it all

they either have to allow you to take it or pay you for it

however they can determine when you take it.

It’s also what the ‘work’ section on MN is for and if she still doesn’t understand she can ask us follow up questions. 🤷‍♀️

A colleague of mine used hers in a slightly different way - she came back to work after mat leave then took the accrued leave in 2 week blocks every two weeks to use it up. It was a bit of a disaster really, annoying for colleagues who had to pick up her work every two weeks then handover to her again every two weeks for weeks on end, and she herself found it really hard to get back into the rhythm of work when she came back, knowing she'd be off again in two weeks.

She's pregnant again and has made it very clear that this time she'll be taking her leave in one go after her mat leave ends.

How much pay will you receive over the year? If you don't get enhanced maternity pay it may be less than the tax free personal allowance. In which case you could return to work 5 weeks early but take the first 5 weeks as paid holiday and not pay tax on the amount that you earn in March.

@LittledogballThis is also what this forum is for. No need to comment if you have nothing helpful to add.

Thanks everyone else for your help and explanations 🙂

I'm due to go on SMP from the end of May but I'm using my 2026 annual leave so I can take paid leave from the beginning of May up until the day before I start SMP, then using the remaining 2026 allowance when I return in Feb 2027 to cover half days to ease childcare costs as the funded hours dont start till April. So I get to start my maternity leave a bit earlier to prep for the baby arriving without taking the financial hit of SMP until July's pay, and half days on my return mean we can lessen the childcare costs until eligible for funded hours in the spring term