It is possible to take parental leave (unpaid) at the end of your maternity leave, provided your employer agrees. You can usually only take parental leave in full weeks, unless your employer agrees. See: https://www.gov.uk/parental-leave/entitlement //www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1637
Refusal to allow you to take parental leave would be discrimination, but only if the reason for the refusal was because of your maternity leave or because of a protected characteristic, for example if you were refused because you are a woman, and a man in the same circumstances would have been allowed to take parental leave.
Yes, you can add your annual leave to the end of your maternity leave with your employer’s consent. You build up annual leave when you are on maternity leave. You should agree with your employer when you will take this annual leave, which may be before you go on maternity leave, at the end of your maternity leave or later in the year.
Yes, if your employer agrees. However, there is no right to do this and you should discuss with your employer how this would work.
You should be allowed to carry any outstanding annual leave forward to the next year if you cannot take it all in the existing year because of your maternity leave. Refusal to allow this may be maternity discrimination.
Last updated: 12 May 2016