Women and their partners who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will also be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave
A new right to leave for workers who have suffered bereavement will cover loss during early pregnancy and a wide range of relationships, the government has said. From April next year, the bereavement right will apply to workers who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling.
Women and their partners who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including miscarriage, a termination and an unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer, will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid time off work.
The announcement follows powerful campaigning, including from grieving parents who had no formal recognition of their loss, to put an end to years of inconsistency and confusion. Currently, in these circumstances, there is no legal right to bereavement leave despite it being estimated that one in five women in the UK experience a miscarriage throughout their lifetime.
Some bereavement and miscarriage support charities have made a strong representations that the leave should be paid, and have vowed to continue to campaign for paid leave.
The Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the lack of rights for those who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks is not right. He said:
If you lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, there is currently no legal right to bereavement leave. I don’t think that’s right. Losing a pregnancy can be devastating. You and your partner shouldn’t have to worry about going straight back to work. So we’re changing the law.
Minister for the Future of Work, Kate Dearden, said:
No one should have to fight for time to grieve. These changes back people going through some of the hardest moments of life, whoever they are and wherever they work.
I want to thank the campaigners, whose courage and testimonies, have made this change happen. Whilst the vast majority of workers have understanding employers, who already go much further than these new rights including by offering paid leave, there needs to be a safety net beyond this discretion. Alongside this, the government will continue to work with businesses as we introduce these measures.
For pregnancy loss, this new right will also apply to partners, the other biological parent, or intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement. This recognises in law that pregnancy loss affects the whole family and that all families across Great Britain have their grief acknowledged and are treated fairly at one of the hardest times in life.
Welcoming the move, the chief executive of the Kinship charity Lucy Peake said:
Kinship families grieve the loss of a loved one just like any other family, and this right to take time off work will help ensure they are treated fairly alongside other bereaved families.
Miscarriage UK described the announcement as “an important step in recognising pregnancy loss as a bereavement”. Chief Executive Vicki Robinson said she hoped it would “provide a baseline for employers to go further”, with the charity calling for bereavement leave to be paid:
We still strongly believe bereavement leave should be paid, and we will continue to press for this through our leave for every loss campaign. We will continue work with Government to ensure the detail and guidance provide meaningful and compassionate support for everyone affected by pregnancy loss.
Bereavement support charity Sue Ryder has also called for the right to paid leave, saying bereavement can have a significant financial impact.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:
No one experiencing the devastating loss of a loved one or a pregnancy should have to worry that they cannot take the time off to grieve. Most employers already provide workers with time off after bereavement. But these new protections will make sure all working families have the time and space they need during some of life’s toughest moments.They show that stronger workers’ rights are not just good for employees and employers, they are the foundation of a fairer and more decent society.
