In a powerful move that could transform the lives of thousands of British families, new legislation known as Baby Priya's Bill is making its way through Parliament, promising to grant working parents dedicated paid leave following the tragedy of stillbirth.
The proposed law draws its emotional weight from the devastating personal experience of one family. In 2020, their world shattered when their son was delivered stillborn. Like countless parents before them, they faced not only profound grief but the additional burden of navigating inadequate workplace bereavement policies.
A System Failing Grieving Families
Currently, UK employment law offers no specific statutory entitlement to paid leave for parents who experience stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. This legislative gap forces grieving parents to rely on the discretion of employers or use sick leave, compounding their trauma with financial and employment uncertainties.
"The silence in workplaces around pregnancy loss is deafening," the bill's advocates argue. "Parents are expected to return to their desks as if nothing happened, while carrying unimaginable grief."
What Baby Priya's Bill Would Change
The proposed legislation would establish a statutory right to paid bereavement leave specifically for parents who experience stillbirth or the death of a newborn. This landmark reform would:
- Provide guaranteed paid leave for both parents
- Recognise stillbirth as a unique form of bereavement requiring specific support
- Remove the current postcode lottery of employer discretion
- Bring the UK in line with other progressive nations
Transforming Tragedy into Systemic Change
The bill represents a significant shift in how society and the workplace acknowledge pregnancy loss. By creating space for grief and recovery, it challenges the longstanding stigma surrounding stillbirth and infant death.
"This isn't just about time off work," explains one supporter. "It's about validating parental grief and giving families the breathing room they need to begin healing. The current system adds institutional trauma to personal tragedy."
As the legislation gains cross-party support, it signals a growing recognition that workplace rights must evolve to better support employees through life's most challenging moments. For the thousands of parents affected by pregnancy loss each year, Baby Priya's Bill offers hope that their grief will no longer be compounded by employment insecurity.
