This is one of the most common questions teachers ask. If your maternity leave start date falls inside a school holiday you might receive your normal teacher salary until the holiday finishes. This depends on your employer, but it is very common and often explained briefly in your school or trust’s maternity policy. If you want to check the legal framework behind maternity pay, you can read the Government’s guidance here:
Gov.uk Maternity Pay and Leave
Here is what actually happens.
Holiday overlap pay
If your maternity date is inside a school holiday and your employer continues to pay teachers normally during that period you may receive full teacher salary for that part of the holiday. Your maternity pay does not begin yet because you are technically classed as “in service” until the school reopens.
Your OMP period also does not start until the holiday ends. You do not lose any OMP or SMP entitlement. Everything is simply pushed back to the first working day of the new term. This is supported by standard maternity rules but is applied differently for teachers because holiday periods behave differently from annual leave in most jobs. ACAS explains the general rules clearly for all employees:
ACAS Maternity Leave Guidance
Why this matters
This can be financially significant. For teachers who start maternity in the summer, Christmas, or Easter holiday, the overlap can add several weeks of full pay before maternity pay begins. It also shifts your entire maternity timeline forward which can give you more flexibility later with Shared Parental Leave.
To make this as accurate and easy as possible, the SPL Teachers Calculator includes a dedicated holiday overlap toggle. You can switch this on or off depending on how your school handles holiday pay. When enabled, the calculator automatically adjusts your maternity start date, OMP timeline, and pay breakdown to reflect the overlap. If your school does not provide holiday overlap pay, you can simply turn the feature off and the calculator will recalculate your timeline instantly.
If you want to understand how SPL interacts with school holidays, the Government provides the overall SPL framework here:
Gov.uk Shared Parental Leave and Pay
Example
Your maternity leave is due to start on 28 March which falls inside the Easter break. If your school continues to pay teachers normally during that holiday then your maternity leave officially starts on the first day back.
This means additional full-time salary, a later maternity start date and a later maternity end date. Your OMP and SMP amounts stay the same, but their timing shifts to begin after the holiday.
How to check with your school
Ask HR or payroll:
“Do teachers who begin maternity inside a school holiday continue to receive normal teacher salary for the remainder of that holiday?”
Keep their answer in writing. Your union may also be able to confirm how your local authority or trust normally handles holiday overlap. For reference, here are two teacher-focused advice pages:
NASUWT Maternity Rights
NEU Maternity Pay & Leave Advice
