Annual Leave and Maternity Leave (UK and Ireland): Do You Accrue Holiday on Maternity Leave?

Yes. In both the UK and Ireland you keep building up annual leave for the whole of your maternity leave, as if you were at work, and in the UK that includes your bank holidays. You can't take holiday and maternity leave at the same time, so you take what you've built up before you go, after you come back, or carried over into the next leave year.

Do you accrue holiday on maternity leave in the UK?

Yes. Acas says an employee will "accrue (build up) their holiday entitlement during statutory maternity leave. This includes bank holidays." GOV.UK puts it the same way: employees "continue to build up holiday entitlement" and can take what they've built up "before or after the leave".

That covers the full maternity leave period, up to 52 weeks. Most workers on a 5-day week are entitled to at least 28 days (5.6 weeks) of paid holiday a year, and if you are on leave for a whole leave year, you still build up all of it.

Do bank holidays count during maternity leave?

It depends on how your contract describes your holiday:

Contract says	What you build up on maternity leave
"28 days including bank holidays"	28 days, bank holidays already inside
"20 days plus bank holidays"	20 days plus the bank holidays in your leave year

GOV.UK confirms that bank holidays "do not have to be given as paid leave" and that an employer "can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker's statutory annual leave". Either way, Acas is clear that bank holidays are part of what you build up on maternity leave, so you don't lose the ones that fall while you're off. For more on how bank holidays fit into an allowance, see Do Bank Holidays Count as Annual Leave?.

Can I carry over holiday I couldn't take because of maternity leave?

Yes, for your statutory holiday. Acas says that if an employee can't use their holiday "because they're on maternity leave for all or most of the year", the employer "must allow them to carry it over to the next holiday year". The Working Time Regulations 1998 say the same in regulation 13(14): where taking statutory leave means you can't take your annual leave in that leave year, you are "entitled to carry forward such untaken leave into the following leave year".

Holiday above the legal minimum ("enhanced" or "contractual" holiday) works differently. Acas says you should agree with your employer whether you'll be paid in lieu of the extra days, or take them and possibly carry them over. Check what your contract says. Holiday Carry-Over & Leave Accrual explains carry-over in general.

Can I take holiday before or after maternity leave?

Yes, and many people do both. Acas lists these options:

• taking some annual leave before maternity leave and some after returning to work
• using all of your holiday for the year before you start maternity leave
• ending maternity leave earlier and taking annual leave instead
• taking most of your holiday after maternity leave, and carrying some into the next holiday year

There is one catch. Taking holiday before you've used the full 52 weeks ends your statutory maternity leave. Acas gives the example of someone who takes 39 weeks of maternity leave and then 2 weeks of paid holiday: the holiday ends their maternity leave, and they can't take the remaining 13 weeks afterwards.

What are KIT days, and do they affect holiday?

Keeping in touch (KIT) days let you work up to 10 days during maternity leave without ending it (Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, regulation 12A, which applies in England, Wales and Scotland). Key points:

• Working any part of a day counts as a full KIT day.
• KIT days can include training or any activity for keeping in touch with the workplace.
• They're optional. GOV.UK says "both the employee and employer need to agree to them", and you agree the work and pay before you come in.
• You can't use them in the first two weeks after the birth.
• They don't make your maternity leave any longer.

A KIT day is a working day, not a holiday day. Holiday keeps building up through your leave whether or not you work KIT days.

What about annual leave on maternity leave in Ireland?

The principle is the same. Citizens Information says that on maternity leave "you are treated as being in employment", so "you can continue to build up your entitlement to annual leave". You are also "entitled to leave for any public holidays that occur during your maternity leave (including additional maternity leave)".

	UK	Ireland
Maternity leave	Up to 52 weeks	26 weeks, plus up to 16 weeks' additional maternity leave
Statutory annual leave	5.6 weeks (28 days on a 5-day week)	4 working weeks
Builds up on maternity leave?	Yes, including bank holidays	Yes, including additional maternity leave
Public or bank holidays during leave	Part of what you build up	Entitled to leave for public holidays that fall during your leave
Statutory leave year	Set by your contract	1 April to 31 March, though many employers use a different year
Carry-over	Statutory leave you couldn't take carries into the next leave year	Within the leave year, or within 6 months of it if your employer agrees; anything further by agreement

Citizens Information says annual leave "should be taken within the leave year", that you can agree with your employer to take it "within 6 months of the relevant leave year", and that any further carry-over "would need to be agreed between you and your employer". If your maternity leave runs across two leave years, agree your plan for both before you go. Annual Leave Entitlement in Ireland explains the 4-week entitlement in full.

Worked example: a full year of maternity leave (UK)

Greta works 5 days a week at NovaTech. Her contract gives 25 days plus 8 bank holidays, 33 days a year, and the leave year runs January to December.

• Maternity leave: 1 March 2027 to the end of February 2028 (52 weeks).
• Holiday built up in 2027: the full 33 days, because holiday keeps building up through maternity leave.
• Taken before leave: 4 days in February 2027. That leaves 29 days for 2027.
• 2027 holiday she can't use: she's on maternity leave for the rest of 2027, so she can't take the 29 days. Her statutory holiday carries into 2028. Whether the contractual days above the statutory minimum carry over too depends on her contract, so she agrees this with HR before she goes.
• 2028: she builds up another 33 days. She takes 10 days straight after maternity leave ends, which pushes her return to work back by two weeks, and spreads the rest across the year.

Use the annual leave calculator to work out a part-year or part-time figure.

Tracking it without a spreadsheet

The hard part for HR is keeping the balance right across two leave years. In Absenca, accrual and carry-over keep each person's balance across leave years, and the employee sees that balance on the request form before booking holiday around their return. The free plan includes balances, accrual and carry-over for teams of up to 10 people.

FAQ

Do you accrue holiday on maternity leave?

Yes. In the UK you build up your full holiday entitlement during statutory maternity leave, including bank holidays. In Ireland you keep building up annual leave because you're treated as being in employment.

Do I get bank holidays back if they fall during my maternity leave?

In the UK, Acas says the holiday you build up on maternity leave includes bank holidays. In Ireland, Citizens Information says you're entitled to leave for any public holidays that fall during your maternity leave.

Can I take holiday after maternity leave?

Yes. You can take holiday you've built up straight after maternity leave ends, which pushes back your return to work. In the UK, taking holiday before you've used all 52 weeks ends your maternity leave, so plan the order.

Will I lose my holiday if my maternity leave covers the whole leave year?

Not your statutory holiday in the UK: your employer must let you carry it over to the next holiday year. Extra contractual days depend on your contract. In Ireland, agree carry-over with your employer before you go: taking leave within 6 months after the leave year depends on your employer, and anything beyond that needs their agreement.

Rules vary and change. Check GOV.UK, Acas or Citizens Information for the current position before you plan your leave.