Maternity/Hol pay and Final Pay

[Delilah_75]

Can anyone help me please?

After having my first child in 2003 I returned to work part-time in August 2004.

I then went on Maternity leave with my 2nd child in September 2006.

I took my 6 months paid leave, and then I took my 6 months un-paid leave. I then made the decision not to return to work .

I have been under the impression that I accrue holiday whilst I am on maternity leave, is this correct? And should have recieved a final pay cheque containing this.

Do I accrue holiday leave for both 6 months paid leave (OML), and 6 months un-paid (AML)?

If my company are in the right I can leave it, but if they are wrong then I need to be fully aware of the facts before I go steaming in there..

I have e-mailed them several times over the past couple of months (so that I have records) but have received no replies, except from my Manager to say that he's forwarded it to Personnel and that he will contact me IF he receives a reply from them! That was 8 weeks ago!

I would appreciate any advice that you can give me.

Many Thanks,
Delilah

[buildersmate]

An interesting question.
Regarding your time off as OML, I believe your company should be accruing the holiday as if you were employed normally. I searched the web for confirmation, and found this (scan down the page) from the DirectGov pages that seems to confirm the same.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employe es/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10034642
Regarding your time off as AML, I believe this is down to company policy. This period off is much the same as asking for time-off unpaid from one's employment - it is 'optional'. As an HR Manager in the past, I have previously operated a policy of declining to accrue staff holiday for periods of unpaid leave. I cannot find any info on Direct Gov or other places to suggest there is a statutory obligation on your company to accure you holiday time for this period off.
Hope that helps. BM

[Delilah_75]

Many Thanks BuildersMate!!

You're dead right, I spoke to an employment law company who said the same as you, and are going to draft up a letter for my company.

There is some confusion over whether holiday gets accrued during my AML as it's not even mentioned in my contract. But they're a very tight company, so I'm sure it's a 'no'.

Thanks again,
Delilah