Maternity leave/holidays

Buttermint

Hi all,

Was just hoping people could have a read of this and see if they have the same interpretation that I do.

I am pregnant and trying to work out when I can finish work. Our policy states;

While on maternity leave, you will continue to earn holidays and bank holidays as normal. If you return from maternity leave before the end of the holiday year, any remaining holiday, bank holiday or Personal Day entitlement should be used up by 31st March and will not be carried over or paid up.
You could choose to:
Take your holiday before you start your maternity leave. This can allow you to leave work sooner. You can use any holiday you’ve already earned or the holiday that you will earn in the same holiday year while on maternity leave

So our holiday year runs 1st April-31st March. I haven’t used any holidays since 1st April this year and I am entitled to 18 days based on service time. I work 3 days a week so thats 6 weeks worth for me. I wanted to use this before I officially start mat leave. So finish work in May (w/c 20th) for 6 weeks hols, then start official mat leave at the start of July (due middle of July)

Main reason for this is that I am not eligible for SMP so need to claim for Maternity Allowance and the turnaround time is approx 8 weeks so using the holidays at the start gives me time to hopefully get this claim processed in time for when the holidays end.

I appreciate its quite early to be finishing but I’ve had a rough pregnancy and feel this is the best option for me.

However my managers are dragging their feet confirming if this is okay which is delaying me being able to plan and get things sorted. They’re mumbling something about holidays accruing over the year so I wouldn’t be able to take them all until the end of the year- which seems in direct contrast to what the policy actually says, particularly the bit in italics, and discriminatory based on the fact that if I wasn’t going on mat leave I wouldn’t have to wait until the end of the holiday year to take time off.

Does it sound like I have it right? I’d like to be sure incase I need to debate it with them.

Appreciate any responses.

Takeaway_Addict

Buttermint wrote: »

However my managers are dragging their feet confirming if this is okay which is delaying me being able to plan and get things sorted. They’re mumbling something about holidays accruing over the year so I wouldn’t be able to take them all until the end of the year- which seems in direct contrast to what the policy actually says, particularly the bit in italics, and discriminatory based on the fact that if I wasn’t going on mat leave I wouldn’t have to wait until the end of the holiday year to take time off.

Does it sound like I have it right? I’d like to be sure incase I need to debate it with them.

Appreciate any responses.

Its not discriminatory as there is no way they would let someone not pregnant have 6 weeks holiday.

And i suspect somewhere you still need agreement of the managers regards the holiday. Also if you don't return and don't complete a full year expect them to claim some of this time back (They can use accrual for year 1 regards holiday but after this they should presume you are working the whole year and claim back accordingly).

Tigsteroonie

I would say that you have interpreted the policy correctly. There is a presumption that you will stay employed by the company until the end of your maternity leave, presumably that's after 31-Mar-2020. So you are entitled to all your expected A/leave and Public Holidays for the full year and, if they are not offering to pay for them or allow you to carry them beyond 31 March 2020, then taking them before you go on Mat Leave is the only option remaining.

it's quite common in my workplace! Ask your HR department, not your Line Manager.

Buttermint

Hi again,

Thanks for the responses!

In terms of it being discriminatory, I just meant that other people in work have already booked off 2-3 weeks at a time for their summer holidays and not been told they need to accrue it first. So it shouldn't be the case for me just because I'm asking to use mine before I start maternity.

If my maternity starts in July it would take me past the cut off of 31st March so I would have to use them all before then. If I started maternity in May then yes I could take the holidays at the end of mat leave before the cut off but because I need to claim for Maternity allowance, taking them at the start gives me breathing space to do that.

Savvy_Sue

I think their policy is wrong. Being on sick leave and being on maternity leave are two cases where employers HAVE to allow accrued leave to be carried forward into a new leave year.

Gov.uk guidance

ACAS guidance

That may not help your argument of wanting to take all the leave before your m/l starts, but knowing you won't lose your entitlement is worthwhile ...

Buttermint

That’s interesting to know thank you.

If I had just decided to start my maternity leave in July then, a few weeks before I’m due, and took the full 39 weeks I can get MA for then I wonder what they would have suggested I do with my holiday entitlement if legally they have to either pay me or let me carry it over?

gettingtheresometime

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I think their policy is wrong. Being on sick leave and being on maternity leave are two cases where employers HAVE to allow accrued leave to be carried forward into a new leave year.

Gov.uk guidance

ACAS guidance

That may not help your argument of wanting to take all the leave before your m/l starts, but knowing you won't lose your entitlement is worthwhile ...

I interpreted the policy to read if you return to work before March 31st then you have to use any unused accrued holiday before 31st March - so in reality what you'd do in that situation is, for example if you'd accrued 2 weeks holiday say you're coming back on 17th March but not be physically in the workplace until 1st April.

Whilst I think the op is interpreting the policy correctly what happens in the situation where an employee decides to do what the op wants to do but after the paid maternity period ends, decides to resign?

Savvy_Sue

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

I interpreted the policy to read if you return to work before March 31st then you have to use any unused accrued holiday before 31st March - so in reality what you'd do in that situation is, for example if you'd accrued 2 weeks holiday say you're coming back on 17th March but not be physically in the workplace until 1st April.

Which is all fine and dandy, but if your m/l ends too late to take all your accrued leave, or even after a new leave year has started, you HAVE to be allowed to carry it forward from one leave year to the next, even if the employer does not usually allow this.

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

Whilst I think the op is interpreting the policy correctly what happens in the situation where an employee decides to do what the op wants to do but after the paid maternity period ends, decides to resign?

Then the employer's policy on overpayments kicks in. Just the same as it would if someone only worked for a few months, took more leave than they were entitled to, and then gave notice. Employer would deduct from final salary and request repayment from the employee if there wasn't enough to cover it.

We've done that when someone was sick in their final month, was not entitled to full pay but received it, and therefore owed us money.

Any employer with a half-decent set of terms and conditions will have it written in that such overpayments can be recovered from final salary.

spadoosh

Without sounding too mean, it sounds like they arent too keen on you. Does that sound about right?

Your not getting any maternity pay from them, you are entitled to your full leave years holidays and practically, its normally always better and easier to tag this on immediately before or after mat leave.

The only thing they are worried about there is the holiday pay. They know its compulsory so why mess about with it?

By all means if they can give you a business reason to refuse but the only reason they are refusing right now is because they think youre not coming back.

Takeaway_Addict

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Which is all fine and dandy, but if your m/l ends too late to take all your accrued leave, or even after a new leave year has started, you HAVE to be allowed to carry it forward from one leave year to the next, even if the employer does not usually allow this.

Then the employer's policy on overpayments kicks in. Just the same as it would if someone only worked for a few months, took more leave than they were entitled to, and then gave notice. Employer would deduct from final salary and request repayment from the employee if there wasn't enough to cover it.

We've done that when someone was sick in their final month, was not entitled to full pay but received it, and therefore owed us money.

Any employer with a half-decent set of terms and conditions will have it written in that such overpayments can be recovered from final salary.

Though if like the OP they have had the opportunity to take the holiday pay and don't does the same apply.The employer is quite clearly telling to take the holiday pay before and if you don't and leave it until after you may risk losing it. The employee cannot turn around and say they had no chance to take it as clearly the terms indicate they had every opportunity.

I know this is off tangent but would be an interesting argument by the employer

Masomnia

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Though if like the OP they have had the opportunity to take the holiday pay and don't does the same apply.The employer is quite clearly telling to take the holiday pay before and if you don't and leave it until after you may risk losing it. The employee cannot turn around and say they had no chance to take it as clearly the terms indicate they had every opportunity.

I know this is off tangent but would be an interesting argument by the employer

I think that if the employer explicitly told the employee that they would accrue x number of days up to the point they go on Mat Leave and that if they did not use it they would lose it then I think they could get away with that. Annual Leave accrued from the point they go on Mat Leave would accrue as normal. I don't see why not. If nothing was said then I don't think they could argue it shouldn't carry over.

OP I can understand why they would not want employees to use leave that they had not yet accrued, ie leave that they will accrue over the coming year. As Maternity Allowance is 39 weeks it might be preferable to cut your mat leave short and use the AL at the end of it.