Annual Leave

I think regarding your annual leave it depends on your company policy. My workplace carries over any annual leave but i think if I use it before the maternity leave is over it then ends the maternity leave early. So instead I plan to use some before my maternity kicks in and the remaining week or so at the very end

I would definitely speak to the company as our policy is also to roll over holidays into the next year and I believe the only thing you can ‘work’ during mat leave is KIT days but anything else would stop your mat pay. A lot of people have said to roll over holidays and then once you decide to return to work you can stagger your holidays then x

@Tamara I am due to have a call with HR in about an hour, problem being I am the first pregnancy in the company so I am not 100% they are sure on what they are doing as head office is also based in Belgium not UK. From my policy there isn’t anything specific, I know our A/L can be carried over but would need to use by April 2026. I just wonder if they will be difficult as I don’t think I can book 2026 holiday yet which is when the SMP would start, but they also want me to book the A/L before I go on mat leave next month! Confusing!

Have a look on citizen advice as they have a lot of information on rights during maternity leave- it does say you have the right to carry then onto the next year but there isn’t a cut off on the website for when they should be used as you’re entitled to a year out of work for maternity :)

Just make sure you check the policy on BH as I have had to take all my bank holiday allowance prior to my leave as it can't be rolled over where as they were happy to roll over A/L.

Double check with your payroll team as I don’t think you can take annual leave whilst receiving a statutory leave payment - they would need to stop your SMP in order to pay holiday, so it might not be possible

Most companies won’t let you take your annual leave until you end your maternity leave. With my first, I ended my maternity leave at 9.5 months and then used my holidays to phase back in but only work 2 days but got full pay for it

Thanks everyone, it seems like what you are saying it correct. I always thought I could use my holiday along side SMP as it was still “accrued” as such! They said that they are going to see if they can pay me it in a lump sum, if they can’t I will probably take abit of mat leave early and use days to phase back to work, I was scheduled to return early March but would need to use the holidays by April x

Sharing this helpful link on the law around annual leave: https://www.acas.org.uk/your-maternity-leave-pay-and-other-rights/holiday-and-maternity-leave

My understanding is by law you’ve a right to carry over your AL if you’re not able to use it due to maternity leave. However, you may need to take this leave at end of SMP which may not be attractive to you, an alternative is you take this years AL in advance or starting your Mat leave. Your HR team should mock this up for you in an excel and guide you through it. The main thing is you don’t lose your AL, as it accrues and you are entitled to carry it over.

@Muireann thank you, am I entitled to my full 25 days with no deadline in 2026? My understanding is it is capped at 5 days and need to be used by April? X

If it’s not possible to take your leave due to Mat leave, then you shouldn’t lose it is my understanding and this should accrue.

See the above ACAS guidance, there’s a specific section on holidays and your rights.

No you can’t have annual leave and SMP at the same time. If you take annual leave while on maternity leave, that counts as your maternity leave ending and you won’t get any more SMP. You can take it before maternity leave and use it to finish early or take it at the end to extend your leave. Most companies will let you carry it over to the next year but some will make you take it this financial year so you have to take it before

You can absolutely carry over. My work give 18m to use annual leave from the date of return so next year when I return in June I’m carrying over 28 days from the rest of this year and I will also have my full allowance for next year. I then have 18m to use these days. Using annual leave when on mat leave will stop your payments.

HR here 👋🏻 what everyone has already said is correct, you cannot be on maternity leave and annual leave (holiday) at the same time. Nothing apart from KIT days can interfere with Maternity. So to use holiday, you’d need to ‘end’ your maternity leave. A lot of people choose to use holiday during the final 3 unpaid bit of maternity for this reason. And yes if you reasonably cannot use your holiday in the current year, for reasons such as maternity, or reasonably use it before going on maternity, then it can roll into the following year. Never heard of such a deadline of using it prior to April, and if you are unable to do this reasonably due to maternity leave they need to extend the deadline beyond April as an adjustment to their policy.

I’m only offered SMP from the get go so I’m going back to work in January (due 19th June) and when I go back I’m going back three days a week for three months and using my carried over holiday and bank holidays the other two days. It works out perfectly for me. Helps me ease back into work but getting full pay.

I don’t qualify for SMP as I started my job recently but you can ask chat GPT to create a plan for you to help you financially that’s what my partner did as he doesn’t qualify for paternity

I’m taking a month’s holiday to use up all my accrued after my 9 months maternity

Camilla is correct. I am also in HR. Your remaining 2025 annual leave including bank holidays get carried over to 2026. As you are on maternity leave, there shouldn’t be a cut off by April; that likely applies to other staff members who didn’t use their annual leave (our company has the same policy but maternity is excluded). I am due in June and will be on maternity leave until Jan only. I then will be using my 2025 annual leave carry over plus some 2026 entitlement until April. So I am off for as long as possible on the best pay. I then still have about 2 and a half weeks of annual leave to take between May and Dec next year :)