Going back to work after mat leave- can I carry my holiday over?

[Minkus]

My employers' holiday year runs April-March like the financial year. I'm hoping to go back to work in June, which will take me up to my full year off.

As this whole year falls into two holiday years, and I have been accruing my holiday whilst on mat leave, can I carry over the holiday from 2008/2009 into this new year, 2009/2010? I've checked the archives but can't find out. I have loads left (14 days) as I was planning on returning on April 1st but theoretically going back in March but been on leave (hence getting paid )so didn't take it in advance of my mat leave. But darling dh has said I can stay off the full year now. Yay for dh's!

Hope this post makes sense and that someone can help!

I work for the NHS and I can carry over my remaining annual leave into the next year. Ours goes April - March too

Usual practice is to add it on to your maternity leave I think. Thats certainly what my employers (NHS) did - I went on maternity leave in 06/07 - having used up all the maternity leave I'd accrued up to when I left. I was due back at work in March 08 but took the years worth of AL and returned to work in April - so leave year 2008/09 having used some of the 07/08 AL in 08/09 - iyswim. Hope that helps.

It depends on your company - in some places you have to have used it up in advance of your mat leave (I had to). Anything you'll accrue for this April - June you can obviously still have.

It does depend upon your employer - I work for local authority and it states in the Maternity booklet that leave cannot be carried over from one year to the next, so you have to take it before you go off on mat leave, or before you go back - so if you worked where I do, you would have to take the leave in March and return to work in April. Your HR people should have advised you of this before you went off on mat leave, but you may be able to get paid for it, but stay off until June.

You will have to make enquiries!!

So typical isn't it, I'd really planned well for my mat leave believing I was only going to be off for 9 months. Now DH's job situation has changed and we can afford for me to stay off for the full 12 months and I am going to lose money for it, as well as the 14 days normal holiday I've got I was really ill before going on mat leave for quite some time with hyperemesis gravidarum and spent a lot of time in hospital, so have also accrued 5 bank holidays to take. 19 days is a months salary (I do 4 days a week) so I can't see my large ex-government organisation being very accommodating

Pooh. Will ask hr though, thanks for responses.

When I was told I couldn't carry mine over, I told my employers that this was in effect discrimination, as I had no way of taking the holiday because I was on maternity. I got a rather stiffly worded email entitled "without prejudice", but they allowed me to receive it as pay instead.

MaryB that's a good point, thanks will try that too if I have no luck!