Holiday during maternity leave and sickness

Your holiday clock never stops. All 52 weeks of maternity leave — paid or unpaid — accrue holiday as if you were at work, and so does sickness absence. This is one of the most commonly underpaid entitlements in the UK.

Maternity leave: the practical playbook

• Book it around the leave. Most people add accrued holiday to the start or end of maternity leave — agreed like any other booking.
• Straddle two leave years? Holiday you couldn't take because of maternity leave must be allowed to carry over into the next year. "Use it or lose it" is unlawful here.
• Bank holidays accrue too if they're part of your contractual package.
• Holiday pay is full pay — a day of annual leave after SMP ends is paid at your normal rate, which is why tagging holiday onto the end is usually worth more than unpaid weeks 40–52.

Sickness: both directions

Off sick, you keep accruing at least the 4-week EU-derived minimum (most employers accrue the full 5.6). If you're too ill to take booked holiday, you can convert it back to sick leave and take the holiday later — and untaken leave from a sickness year carries over for up to 18 months.