Can you accrue bank holidays while on maternity leave?

[Ginni]

I asked lady in HR, she said yes and so I went about arranging to get paid for the 5 bank holidays which fell when I was on maternity leave. This lady has now left the company and HR are now saying that you can't accrue bank holidays on ML - who is right?

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if companies can choose how to implement the rules or if there is a standard method, but I accrued bank holidays during my ML and so was able to add them on at the end (they had a policy that they wouldn't pay for them, you actually had to take them at the end of ML). As I had taken the full year off, I got 8 days of BH tagged on to the end.

Thanks - this is so frustrating and I really need the money!

There's another thread further down re this exact topic - slight differences in opinon though!

I don't think so

Bank Holidays are just part of your maternity leave

you can accrue holiday entitlement though

I got told you dont

I did.
the understanding is that bank holidays are in effect days that you get paid for that you don't actually work - just like holidays.
therefore you do accrue them.

At my work you do accrue both annual leave and statutory days - which includes Bank Holidays and any extras that you get for Christmas closure for example. Is there a proper maternity policy that you can refer to?

I get TOIL for all BH while on paid and statutory maternity leave. Not extra pay though. Not sure whether it is law or just my T&Cs.

when I was full time, I didn't.

Now I am part time, my leave is calculated pro-rata including bank holidays, so yes, I would.

I thinki it might depend on your company's policy. I accrued bank holidays during my 10 months ML, although like Carikube I had to take them at the end of my ML. If HR says no, ask to see written documentation that clearly states this!

You won't get paid for the bank holidays that were during your maternity leave. You can't receive salary during maternity leave, other than for Keeping in Touch days.

If you do accrue bank holidays during maternity leave, you will accrue them as days to take off, as with other holiday, not as extra pay.

I'm accruing bank holidays during my mat leave, and being paid for them. I might just be lucky though

If your company lets you accrue bank holidays then you have a bonus because they do not have to. Bank holiday are statutory holidays which are exatley that - statutory.

With regards to you annual leave entitlement then that is accrued whilst on ML.

Hi I accrued BH & annual leave while I was off on ML. All of this leave carried over until I returned to work.....

As I understand it, this is a very grey area. It may partly depend on how your holiday year coincides with your maternity leave.

If you contract is silent on this, then you are entitled to your statutory rights.

If you work full time, then you are entitled to 28 days off per year. Your employer can set the holiday year, and is entitled to tell you to take certain days off as holiday. Therefore, an employer is entitled to give you 20 days holiday to take whenever, and then the 8 statutory bank holidays on top.

Your employer is not entitled to tell you to take holiday during your maternity leave. You do continue to accrue your (statutory)holiday during your maternity leave.

However, if, for example, your holiday year ran June - July, you were contractually entitled to 25 days plus bank holidays per year, and your maternity leave ran Jan - Dec, then as each June - July holiday year would contain at least 3 bank holidays that you were at work for, then you would still get your 28 days in each holiday year, and your employer need not give you the bank holidays that fell within your maternity leave.

In my experience, HR departments are not very clued up on this sort of thing!