Annual leave continues to build up while an employee is on Statutory Maternity Leave in England, Scotland and Wales. If maternity leave means you cannot use the holiday before the leave year ends, the employer must let you carry it over. You cannot take annual leave and maternity leave at the same time, so agree how to use the balance before leave or after returning.
Holiday accrues during maternity leave
Agree the dates with the employer
Taking holiday can end maternity leave
What accrues while you are away?
GOV.UK says workers build up holiday entitlement during maternity, paternity and adoption leave. Acas confirms that statutory holiday continues to accrue throughout maternity leave, including bank holidays. Your contract may provide additional holiday above the statutory minimum; check the contract and employer policy for how that extra entitlement is treated.
Holiday entitlement and maternity pay are separate. Accruing annual leave does not extend Statutory Maternity Pay or create Maternity Allowance. Holiday taken as annual leave is paid under the applicable holiday-pay rules; see the UK holiday pay and tax guide. The Great Britain Maternity Leave guide explains the separate leave and SMP notices.
Carrying unused holiday into the next leave year
If you cannot use your holiday because you are on maternity leave, Acas says your employer must allow you to carry it over to the next holiday year. This can matter when maternity leave spans the employer’s holiday-year end. Ask HR to confirm in writing the number of statutory days accrued, any contractual extra days, the leave-year dates and the carry-over balance.
There is no single date for every employer’s holiday year. It may follow the calendar year, the tax year or another period stated in the contract or policy. Keep the carry-over calculation separate from SMP, occupational maternity pay and any contractual top-up.
Taking annual leave before or after maternity leave
You and the employer can plan to use accrued holiday before maternity leave starts, after it ends, or in a combination that fits the leave year and workplace rules. Annual leave cannot run concurrently with maternity leave. Follow the employer’s holiday-request process and agree the dates; the 15-week maternity notification deadline and SMP notice are different processes.
GOV.UK’s general statutory notice rule for booking holiday is at least twice as much notice as the length of the requested leave, plus one day, unless the employment contract sets a different notice rule. An employer that refuses or cancels a request generally gives notice equal to the leave requested plus one day. Check the contract and current policy before relying on the default; this holiday notice does not replace maternity-leave or SMP notices.
If you take annual leave after returning to work, maternity leave has ended and the employer must pay the holiday under the applicable holiday-pay rules. If you take annual leave before the planned 52 weeks of maternity leave have ended, Acas says the holiday automatically ends the maternity leave. You cannot then resume the unused weeks of that maternity leave after the holiday. Get the consequences confirmed in writing before booking an early return.
Plan your holiday balance around maternity leave
- 1Check your employer’s holiday year, statutory allowance, contractual extra leave and current balance.
- 2Ask payroll or HR to confirm how much holiday will accrue up to your planned return and how bank holidays are counted in your allowance.
- 3Agree whether to take holiday before maternity leave, after returning, or carry eligible days into the next holiday year.
- 4Do not overlap annual leave and maternity leave. If you plan to take holiday before the original maternity end date, confirm that this will end maternity leave and check the effect on the remaining weeks.
- 5Keep the written holiday approval and updated return date. Check SMP or any contractual maternity-pay dates separately with payroll.
Holiday pay and other family leave
Statutory maternity leave itself is not annual leave. Holiday pay is paid by the employer for booked annual-leave days under the applicable holiday-pay rules; it is not a separate government benefit. SMP and Maternity Allowance follow their own eligibility and claim rules. Do not assume a holiday-pay day extends the SMP period or changes a DSP/DWP decision.
Related family leave has its own scheme rules. The Paternity Leave guide, Adoption Leave guide and Shared Parental Leave and Pay guide explain those leave processes. Holiday accrued during another type of leave may have specific rules; check the relevant guide and the current employer policy rather than transferring maternity dates to another scheme.