I work for a smallish company with no HR department. The general manager pretty much does all of the payroll and says what goes. When I arranged my maternity leave, he told me that they would pay out my annual leave as though I had quit (in essence they "terminated" my employment and will reinstate me when I go back...although he said not to worry, they only "theoretically" terminated me), so as a result I was not paid for Christmas, Boxing Day, or New Years, even though they fell during the 3 weeks of annual leave, before the unpaid portion of my leave. It sounded strange to me - not sure if its legal or not, but theres no one else at the company to ask.