Annual Leave and Maternity Leave in the NHS: How They Fit Together
Your annual leave keeps building while you are on maternity leave. Here is how to work out what you are owed and use it to plan your return.
Updated · 3 min read
Try it with your own numbersNHS Annual Leave CalculatorWhen you go on maternity leave, it is easy to focus on maternity pay and forget about annual leave. But you keep building annual leave the whole time you are off, and with NHS entitlements that can add up to several weeks. Used well, it can extend your time at home on full pay or help with a phased return.
You keep earning leave on maternity leave
By law, your contractual annual leave continues to build up during all of your maternity leave, including the unpaid part. Under Agenda for Change, that includes your public holiday entitlement too.
For a full-time employee:
| Years of NHS service | Annual leave | Plus public holidays | Total days a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 years | 27 days | 8 | 35 |
| 5 to 10 years | 29 days | 8 | 37 |
| 10 years or more | 33 days | 8 | 41 |
Part-time staff build leave in proportion to their hours, in hours rather than days.
An example
A full-time Band 5 nurse with three years' service takes 12 months of maternity leave starting on 1 October.
- Leave built during the 12 months: 35 days (27 days plus 8 public holidays)
- Leave not taken before going off: say 10 days of the current leave year
They could return with up to 45 days of leave to take, depending on how leave years and carry-over rules work at her trust. Many people use some of it straight after maternity leave ends, effectively extending their time off on full pay.
The annual leave calculator converts your entitlement into hours for any pattern.
Using leave before or after maternity leave
Common ways to use it:
- Before maternity leave starts, to finish work earlier without starting maternity leave
- Straight after maternity leave, to extend time at home on full pay
- Spread over the first weeks back, for example as one day a week, as a kind of phased return
Agree your plan with your manager in good time. Leave that would cross into a new leave year may need to be carried over, so ask how your trust handles carry-over after maternity leave.
Keeping in touch days
You can work up to 10 keeping in touch (KIT) days during maternity leave without ending your leave or losing maternity pay. They are optional for both you and your employer. They are often used for training, team meetings or a few shifts to ease back in.
NHS employers pay for KIT days. Check your trust's policy for how the payment is worked out alongside any maternity pay for that week.
If you switch to shared parental leave, you can work up to 20 shared parental leave in touch (SPLIT) days as well.
Returning to work and the three-month rule
To keep NHS occupational maternity pay, you normally need to return to NHS employment for at least three months after your maternity leave. If you do not return, you may have to repay the occupational part of your maternity pay, though not Statutory Maternity Pay. Annual leave taken at the end of maternity leave is not the same as returning to work, so check how your trust counts it.
Our maternity pay guide explains the payments in full, and the maternity pay calculator works them out week by week.
Returning part time
Many parents return on reduced hours. Your annual leave then builds at the part-time rate from the date your hours change. Leave built while you were on maternity leave is based on your hours before you went off. You have the right to request flexible working from day one; our flexible working guide explains the process.
Common questions
Do I lose leave if I cannot take it in the leave year? The law protects leave you could not take because of maternity leave. You should be allowed to carry it over.
Do bank holidays during maternity leave count? Yes. Under NHS terms, public holiday entitlement builds up too.
Does annual leave affect my maternity pay? No. Leave is paid at your normal rate when you take it.
Work out your leave
Use the annual leave calculator to see your entitlement in hours for your service and hours.
This guide explains the general rules for staff in England using 2026/27 figures. It is not financial advice. Your employer, payslip or NHS Pensions statement has the final word on your own pay.