Hi everyone

I would be really grateful for your advice on the following.

We have two staff who are both going t take a period of unpaid leave subsequent to their maternity leave. For both, this will mean they have several weeks leading up to the School's winter break on unpaid leave. They are both going to return to work on the first day after the Christmas vacation. 

I believe they should be paid for the vacation on the basis that, although they will not be on "statutory leave," it is outside their control that the School will be closed when they may otherwise wish to return to work. To counteract this, we would be in a situation where they return to work on the last day of term in order to be paid for the holiday which seems silly. Furthermore, to not pay them for that break would see them suffer a detriment when compared to their other colleagues. 

It is worth noting that, contractually, at our school, the summer vacation is classed as annual leave under their contracts of employment. 

I would be grateful for any advice you can give. 

Thank you