How should holiday pay be calculated in circumstances where an employee—accrues annual leave entitlement before and during a period of maternity leave at which time they are on a higher rate of pay (due to undertaking a seconded role), and seeks to use the that accrued annual leave on their return to work, at which time they are on their standard, lower, rate of pay? If the employee does not receive the higher rate of pay, would this constitute maternity discrimination?

For our full suite of materials on paid annual leave entitlement, see: Holiday and holiday pay—a guide to our materials. In particular, see our Practice Note: Statutory paid holiday—calculating holiday pay.

The information below relates to statutory holiday entitlement and assumes that the employee has normal working hours and is not a part-year worker. The employee’s contract of employment should also be considered for any terms that may be relevant, eg if the employee has a contractual entitlement that is more generous than the statutory minimum.

Workers in Great Britain have a statutory entitlement to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave