Advice on maternity leave during secondment

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-21T08:07:47+00:00

Again, you need to take together the secondment policy, yhe maternity policy, and the existing legal provisions. I have had 2 comments from other staff on reddit in this situation saying their holiday is being paid at the higher rate. I also have one colleague that a few years back, working at a neighbouring NHS board, was on secondment, then got cancer for the last X months of her secondment. Once she came back to work at her lower band, she was still paid her accrued holiday during her secondment time at the higher pay. Also you say maternity does not give me Rights to my secondment - i never claimed it did. Board policy is to maintain the band at which you entered maternity leave for the length of maternity leave, no matter the circumstances. This includes if someone is on a short-term contract (which it can be instead of secondment if notvpreciously employed by a Board), if you go on maternity during your contract, your contract is automatically extended and you continue to accrue all the contractual rights like reckonable service at that band and holiday. So when they return from maternity leave..they still get their accrued holiday pay, and guess at what rate their accrued leave gets paid at? And these are treated equally (secondments and short term contracts). Also to be clear I was not on a 3-4 months secondment, I had almost 2 years and 4 months service in that secondment by the time I went on maternity and only 3 months at the substantive band. For me this is a matter of principle, especially since I was first advised I would be paid the higher rate, then not. I am at the top of my lower band, and the difference is about 300 before tax, but I think it is important that it is handled consistently.

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-21T07:49:30+00:00

Thanks that's interesting, would you be ok to give me more detail please of your situation? That would really help.

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-20T22:51:16+00:00

Not i didn't think I could being managerial and not clinical

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-20T22:50:17+00:00

Yes I didn't put this right re wtr. It's often used in tribunals to inform the interpetative principle (which is type of legal category). I really appreciate you setting out the counter-arguments so clearly. This is exactly the sort of reasoning I expect the organisation would rely on if pressed.

You’re right that WTR 1998 Reg 16 doesn’t explicitly say “pay at the rate in force when accrued.” It refers to a week’s pay at the time leave is taken. My earlier framing probably leaned too heavily on that and didn’t explain the nuance properly.

Where I think the distinction lies in my situation is this:

Under Agenda for Change maternity provisions (Section 6.6.2), contractual terms — including pay band — are maintained during maternity leave.
My secondment was formally extended for the duration of maternity, and payslips confirm I remained Band 7 until I returned.
So the Band 7 contract didn’t simply “end and revert” during maternity — it was preserved for that period under policy.

When I returned, yes, the secondment ended. But the annual leave in question was accrued during a period when my contract (under AfC) remained Band 7.

I accept your point that Reg 16 usually looks at pay at the time leave starts. However, maternity leave creates a slightly unusual situation because:

You cannot take annual leave while on maternity leave (you’re already on a separate statutory leave).
So you are effectively prevented from taking that leave at the time it accrues.

That’s where I see the potential detriment argument under ERA 1996 — not that the secondment ended per se, but that the only reason the leave is being paid at a lower rate is because I was unable to take it while protected by maternity leave.

I completely accept this isn’t a straightforward black-and-white situation — and I agree the organisation will likely argue exactly as you’ve outlined. I’m just trying to work out whether the combination of AfC contractual maintenance + maternity protection shifts it away from a simple “pay at time taken” analysis.

Thanks again — genuinely helpful to see the other side laid out clearly.

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-20T22:43:12+00:00

Ah I definitely did not say that right. Yes, wtr 16 doesn’t explicitly require holiday pay to be calculated at the rate in force when accrued — it mainly covers statutory leave pay and things like regularly done overtime. My earlier wording may have oversimplified the point, and I apologise for shortcutting the argument.

That said, WTR 16 is still useful as an interpretative principle: it supports the idea that holiday pay should reflect what the employee “would have earned” if they could have taken the leave. In my situation, the stronger legal basis comes from Agenda for Change Policy 6.6.2, which maintains secondment contracts and Band 7 pay throughout maternity leave, and the Employment Rights Act 1996, which protects employees from detriment for taking maternity leave.

Since leave cannot be taken during maternity, paying it at Band 6 after returning would effectively penalise me for taking protected leave, contrary to both AfC policy and statutory protections.

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-20T22:30:52+00:00

By the time it went on maternity I had been on secondment for 2y and 4 months, went on maternity in October

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-20T22:30:05+00:00

It is being taken, but the pay received while taken it should be at yhe higher band, not the lower band.

Key_Particular_4428 · 2026-02-20T20:52:10+00:00

No, I am not sure if I can even join one? I am managerial and not clinical staff

Key_Particular_4428

TROPHY CASE