Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed a new time off work rule under a law change from April next year. From April 2027, women and their partners who experience pregnancy loss at any stage will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave to grieve.
The changes will apply to those who experience miscarriage, terminations or unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers. In these circumstances, there is currently no legal right to bereavement despite it being estimated that one in five women in the UK experience a miscarriage throughout their lifetime.
Existing rules and new rights
Under existing rules, parental bereavement leave and pay is only available to employees if they or their partner lose a child up to the age of 18 or have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. From April, the right to time off will extend to pregnancy loss at any stage.
The government has said no one will be asked or required to provide evidence of their loss, helping to protect employee's privacy at a distressing time.
Prime Minister's statement
Mr Burnham confirmed the new rights this week during Baby Loss Awareness Week, saying he wants to “do more to help”. In a post on LinkedIn, the PM wrote: “During Baby Loss Awareness Week, I want to recognise the heartbreak that baby and pregnancy loss causes parents and families across the UK. I will be thinking of everyone who has suffered such a devastating loss this week. And I want to do more to help.
“Right now, if you lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, you have no legal right to bereavement leave. I'm changing that.
“From April, women and their partners will be entitled to two weeks leave following any pregnancy loss. I know this isn't perfect and I want to do more.
“But this first step will establish a basic right that everyone can rely on. It is a legal minimum, and I urge employers to go further, including offering paid leave where they can.”
Scope and flexibility
The government said this new pregnancy loss right to up to two weeks off work will also apply to partners, the other biological parent, or intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement, recognising in law that pregnancy loss affects the whole family.
The right to bereavement leave will also be extended from April to workers who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling, as well as including step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships.
The leave will be able to be taken flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss and as single days rather than a full block to enable people to grieve in the way which works for them. Those taking leave within the first eight weeks after a bereavement will only need to notify their employer as soon as is reasonably practicable, rather than in advance. Employees taking bereavement leave will be protected from “detriment or dismissal” for their statutory right to leave.
The government is also undertaking a wider, comprehensive review of the parental leave and pay system including on areas such as ‘Hugh's Law' and the rights of parents with terminally ill children.
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.”
