Holiday pay during maternity leave?

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I work for a small shop. My employer has been paying me maternity pay since April and it's due to end at the end of December.

I shall not be returning to my job when my leave ends and i do not have a contract with my employer. The shop closed for 2 weeks in the summer and will close again for 1 week at Christmas. All the staff were paid their holiday pay for this and i was paid my usual maternity pay ( £117.18 )

A friend of mine has told me i am entitled to holiday pay during maternity leave, even though i don't have a contract. So am i still owed some holiday pay for the 2 weeks in the summer and the 1 week at Christmas?

Thank you.

I think you'd accrue at the minimum level, even without a contract, during ML which is the equivalent of 24 days pa(assuming you were full-time) prorata for the weeks of ml- details here

Thanks for that. Very helpful

You are entitled to accrue holiday in the normal way - at full pay. There is a slight complication about how you accrue if there is a difference between your contractual holiday and the statutory entitlement, but if you don't have a contract that shouldn't be an issue.

However, you are not entitled to holiday pay during maternity leave (you can't be on holiday and on maternity leave at the same time). The way it works is that, at the end of your leave, you will have a holiday balance. You could either take that holiday at the end of your maternity leave and be paid at full rate, or you can be paid out a lump sum in lieu of holiday at termination.