Parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy will be entitled to bereavement leave under a proposed change in the law.
The government is poised to amend the Employment Rights Bill, granting parents the legal right to take time off work to grieve following pregnancy loss at any stage.
Currently, bereavement leave is only accessible to parents who experience the loss of an unborn child after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner stated that the amendment will provide “people time away from work to grieve”.
“No one who is going through the heartbreak of pregnancy loss should have to go back to work before they are ready,” Rayner added.
Parents are presently entitled to two weeks of leave if they experience pregnancy loss after 24 weeks, or in the event of the death of a child under the age of 18.
Eligibility also extends to two weeks’ statutory parental bereavement pay – either £187.18 weekly or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower – contingent upon having worked for their employer for a minimum of 26 weeks.
The proposed extended right to leave would be unpaid and extend for at least one week, with the precise duration subject to ongoing consultation.
Further details, encompassing eligibility criteria and the potential requirement of a doctor’s note, will be determined following a consultation period.
The measure would be applicable in England, Scotland, and Wales, excluding Northern Ireland.
The Employment Rights Bill, which incorporates additional measures to legally protect employees’ entitlement to time off to grieve the loss of a loved one, is currently progressing through Parliament.
Labour MP Sarah Owen, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, hailed the move as a “huge step forward to recognising that loss as a bereavement”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she noted that women are currently entitled to “absolutely nothing, aside from maybe sick leave”.
She added: “We know so many women just will not take it, and it also enforces the feeling that there’s something wrong with you.”
Owen, a prior advocate for the change, expressed that the “overwhelming sense” she experienced after her own miscarriage was one of grief and loss, rather than physical issues.
“Nobody says ‘get well soon’ once you’ve had a miscarriage, they say ‘I’m really sorry for your loss’. It’s fantastic to see the law catch up with this.”
Musician and broadcaster Myleene Klass, who was appointed an MBE for her contributions to miscarriage awareness, similarly stated the news was a “marker for all of the families who have been ignored”.
Speaking to the BBC, she affirmed the importance of moving beyond sick leave, asserting “you’re not ill, you’ve lost a child, there’s a death in the family”.
Klass noted the topic had long been “swept under the carpet,” adding that it was only after her own experience of pregnancy loss that many friends and family shared their “deep dark secret” of having had miscarriages, too.
She said: “It’s a taboo – nobody wants to talk about dead babies – but you have to actually say it as it is. To lose a child is harrowing, it’s traumatic.”
Helena, who runs a beauty salon in Manchester employing three staff members, conveyed to the BBC her concerns about the potential impact of the change on small businesses like hers.
“This might work for larger businesses but I can’t afford my staff taking more time off.
“I had a miscarriage years ago and the healthiest thing for me to do was to keep busy and get back to work.”
In March, business minister Justin Madders acknowledged the principle of bereavement leave for pregnancy loss and pledged to explore adding the right to the Employment Rights Bill.
Vicki Robinson, chief executive of the Miscarriage Association, said on Monday the move would significantly contribute to acknowledging the “emotional element” of pregnancy loss.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she noted the potential for “really anxiety-inducing going back to work when you’re still grieving your loss,” adding that “for partners at the moment there is absolutely nothing”.
She stated the change will help “protect the right for people to take time off work without penalty or punishment” after such a loss.
The CBI, which lobbies on behalf of businesses in the UK, said: “Pregnancy loss is a devastating experience yet it is also sadly all too common.
“Good employers recognise the importance of supporting their staff to take the time they need to grieve by ensuring that they don’t feel under pressure to return to work before they are ready.”
Government estimates suggest approximately 250,000 pregnancies end in miscarriage annually.
According to the pregnancy charity Tommy’s, the majority of miscarriages occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
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