Any HR whizzes please!
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@Katie yesss as in at the start of the year I’m told I have X number of hours for the full year from April 1st - 31st March and that goes down as I use it.. that’s why I’m confused why it would be treated differently just because my maternity leave starts before the end of the holiday year because I should still be treated as every other employer (in my head anyway!) does that make sense?
100% . It’s more than likely that your company just doesn’t want you to take leave you haven’t actually accumulated until you have so you have the 44 hours before maternity you’ll have the rest of the hours accumulated January to March for you to either be paid in full in March or to take after your maternity. I hope that makes sense? Some companies are very funny when it comes to holiday pay and maternity I myself had to fight my co worker for my entitled holiday pay but I used mine after my maternity and I did play it crafty because I worked out when I could go on maternity so I had a year and half of holiday pay waiting for me rather than the usual year
@Katie hm I just think it’s not fair and want to know if they’re legally allowed to do it cos I feel like it’s pregnancy discrimination 😂 don’t know why they want to do it tbh! And well done to you for making the most of yours, gotta look out for no1!
As you accrue holiday hours while on maternity leave the 74.5 will be the year’s entitlement and they are entitled to only allow you to take the amount you have accrued rather than your yearly allowance before hand. It will be carried over and should still be available to you when you return from maternity leave. I went on off from May and used all of my Holiday before starting my maternity leave in June. As there was no chance I could use the leave in the same year, I would accumulate a lot while off so they let me use the whole lot before hand. That was only because it was beneficial to the business 😊
It’s defo not illegal because technically you haven’t earned the hours you’re missing and you will get them eventually just not before you start maternity. Don’t think any company would honour holiday you haven’t accumulated yet so wouldn’t say it was pregnancy discrimination either
This is the relevant advice from acas and tbf it sounds like they agree with you, they say you’re meant to be allowed to take statutory holiday allowance in the same holiday year so maybe speak to your manager: https://www.acas.org.uk/your-maternity-leave-pay-and-other-rights/holiday-and-maternity-leave
You have to start your maternity by your due date so you can’t take holidays to exceed your due date and then start maternity later. So the days must be used in advanced or agreed to be rolling. This is crap if you go over your due date as feel like missing out on time with baby not here. You can use your holidays accrued up to the start of your maternity. I would then be questioning from Jan to March that those holidays will be rolling to next year as entitled to them. They can’t just write them off. Get this in writing. It’s only an issue if they don’t allow you the holidays to be carried.
@Aoife my due date isn’t till 8th Feb, I was planning on officially starting my mat leave at 38 weeks but using annual leave before that so I’d finish at 34ish weeks. They have said that the holidays accrued from Jan to March would be rolled over but my issue is that if I wasn’t going on maternity I’d be given my full allowance at the beginning of the year that I could have used up ages ago so why am I being treated differently.
If I’m reading this right.. Every company has different policy’s but usually you can only use what you’ve accrued to date. Are your holidays a set number given at the start of the holiday year so you can see in your ‘balance’ that you have x amount then it goes down as and when you use it? If so they could be right. To take the holidays before your maternity you would only be able to take what you’ve already accrued while working March-January which I’m guessing is the 44.5 hours then from January to March is where your missing the 30 hours which you’ll accrue while on maternity. However if that’s not how your company works and your holiday ‘balance’ goes up through the year and down when you use it something definitely isn’t right.