Maternity leave how to calculate??

hi girls i know that you have to finish 2 weeks b4 due date so i have a date for that. so i know mat leave is 26 weeks then unpaid is 18 weeks we really dont think we can afford the unpaid as i dont get any pay from work. so does it work like this finish work date + 26 weeks + any bank holidays + annual holidays and is taking unpaid is which is the confusing one?? finish work + 26 weeks + bh + holidays + unpaid 18 weeks or is it finish work + 26 weeks + bh +unpaid 18 wks + annual hols??? please advise???

Hi baby4me, It's probbaly different in every workplace but in ours it's l;ike this 1. 26 weeks maternity leave, then 2. bank holidays accrued during 26 weeks then 3. unpaid leave then 4. annual leave. I was told by our HR that once I take annual leave I am considered "back to work" and then lose out on my unpaid leave. So if I want to avail of any unpaid leave I will have to take it before annual leave. That's the way it works here, other places might eb different though so I'm open to correction.... HTH Corks

I'm taking 26 weeks maternity leave + bank hols + A/L accrued from this year. I'm not taking my parental leave all at once I'm using it to reduce my hours so that I can go down to 4 day week without losing out on A/L entitlements etc.

thanks corks that kinda sounds right. only thing is the 26 weeks is pd from gov. then say if you have 5 bank holidays in that time does that mean thatextra week is unpaid. or do you get 27 weeks from gov. i really donr have a clue. i think my annual leave has to be last as well cause i will be paid for that!!

I think the bank holidays are paid as they fall during paid leave so essentiially 27 weeks. I'm lucky as I think I accrue 9 days public holidays and concession leave during my 26 weeks. Augusta, I'm hoping to do the 4 day (even 3 day) week when i return too. But unpaid maternity leave is seprate to parental leave here - is that teh case with you too? I hope all I'm saying is right though as I want to avail of EVERYTHING we can afford (probbaly only 8 weeks unpaid as oppsoed to 18 weeks). If I'm worng my plans to be off til September 08 will be gone out the window!

ya as far as i know parental leave and unpaid leave are seperate

parental leave is seperate from the unpaid leave and you have to apply for it you cant be refused it by your employer (as is the case for the unpaid leave) but the difference is your empl has to agree how you take it - for instance it might not suit them to let you take it in a block at the end of your mat leave, they might for instance want you to take it a day per week or something it is also unpaid it works here as follows 26 weeks paid mat leave + bank holidays worked up during the 6 months (4 for me) + Annual leave worked up in that time (2 weeks 2 days for me) then onto unpaid after that if required

Yeh, sorry to confuse the issue, parental leave is separate to unpaid leave. The unpaid leave has to be taken immediately but I'm not taking this. I'll be off for about 7 and half months with full pay (bank hols are paid and one month accrued A/L) and then just using the parental leave to reduce my hours after that.

i thought u would b entitled to ur full holiday entiltlments eg i will finish in feb but assumeed after my 26 weeks that i could take my full 23 days hols. or wud i only entitled to the hols from jan & feb

sorry to confuse things further, but if you decide to go back to work without taking the full 26 weeks what happens? do you have to take the full 26 weeks or should you state before you go on maternity leave how long you intend to take off?? Also if you go back to work before the 26 weeks are up, are you still entitled to 26 weeks maternity payments? thanks!