Tier 2 Maternity, unpaid leave and ILR

Hi,

My wife has been on a Tier 2 visa which is approaching 5 years in August. She has been working for the same employer this whole period full time and minus regular annual leave she has not taken any unpaid time off thus far. This year she took maternity leave and some has been abridged due to shared parental leave.

She is due to go back to work in July. We are having challenges getting child care so wanted to see if she can take a couple of weeks of unpaid leave (2 weeks) but before doing so wanted to see if this either impacts her Visa or her application for ILR.

She is due to complete her 5 year continuous residence period at the end of August.

Thanks,

Up to 4 weeks in total in any calendar year (1January to 31 December).

I took 8 weeks of shared parental leave. Her maternity start date was last August 4th. The employer is telling her she cannot take any more unpaid leave as this would be a breach of Tier 2 contract. I thought from Tier 2 and ILR perspective she is entitled up to one year maternity (minus 8 weeks for shared that got reduced) plus 4 weeks unpaid leave.