Leave HackerGuidesPlan my yearDo I build up holiday on maternity leave?
Yes, bank holidays included
Yes. Your holiday keeps building up during statutory maternity leave, including bank holidays, and the same goes for paternity, adoption and shared parental leave. You can't take holiday and maternity leave at the same time, but you can take it before or after, and carry over what you couldn't use.
Plan it with your employer
Agree how much you'll build up, when you'll take it and what carries over. Common ways to do it:
- Some holiday before maternity leave, the rest when you go back.
- All of the year's holiday before you start maternity leave.
- Most of it when you return, carrying some into the next leave year.
- Ending maternity leave early and taking holiday instead.
Acas's example
Charlie gets 28 days and plans a year's maternity leave. They take 3 days before it starts and 25 when they return; because of the time of year, 5 of those carry into the next leave year.
Going back to work is a good time to plan the year ahead around the bank holidays, and around nursery or school dates if they matter. Plan your return.
Sources
- Acas: Holiday and maternity leave
- gov.uk: Holiday entitlement
- gov.uk: Calculate leave entitlement (leave years, starting a job, irregular hours, carrying over)
- Acas: Bank holidays and Christmas
- nidirect: Holiday entitlements (Northern Ireland)
Checked on 26 October 2026. This is general information about the legal minimum in the UK, not legal advice: your contract can give you more, and can set its own rules for notice and carrying over. For help with your own situation, call the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 (England, Scotland and Wales) or the Labour Relations Agency on 03300 555 300 (Northern Ireland).
More questions
Can my employer refuse my holiday because I've been on maternity leave?
Not for that reason: refusing holiday because of pregnancy or maternity could be discrimination. They must let you carry over leave you couldn't take.