UK set to expand bereavement leave for miscarriage

The United Kingdom (UK) has announced that it will offer bereavement leave to parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks, expanding a current law that previously offered it only if it occurred at 24 weeks or later.

Key Takeaways:

• An amendment to the UK’s Employment Rights Bill will offer bereavement leave to parents who experience a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy.

• This changes the current law, which only offers leave for stillbirths after 24 weeks.

• The changes will likely take effect in 2027.

The Details:

The UK Labour party is amending the Employment Rights Bill to offer leave to parents who have a miscarriage at any stage in the pregnancy, though the exact length of time that will be offered has yet to be determined.

Parents in the UK are currently entitled to two weeks’ leave from work if they have a miscarriage 24 weeks or later, or if a child under the age of 18 dies. They also receive statutory parental bereavement pay, which is either £187.18 or 90% of average weekly earnings, as long as they have been working for their employer for at least 26 weeks.

READ: ‘Boy Meets World’ star Trina McGee announces heartbreaking miscarriage

The change comes in part thanks to the advocacy of Sarah Owen, MP and Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee.

“From my personal experience of miscarriage to the powerful testimony the Women & Equalities Select Committee heard, I know the difference that bereavement leave will make,” she said, adding:

It is a bold and necessary move from this Government to see the UK become one of only a handful of countries in the world to recognise pregnancy loss as a bereavement and give workers the right to take time off to grieve.

Nothing will ever take away the pain of losing a pregnancy, but this law change will provide workers with the security of time to grieve and help end the stigma of miscarriage for good.

Despite her comments on pregnancy loss, Owen voted to support an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to decriminalize all self-administered abortions in the UK — effectively allowing abortion to birth through use of abortion drugs. The amendment’s provisions are extremely unpopular with the UK public.

Vicki Robinson, chief executive of the Miscarriage Association, welcomed the announcement, calling it “a hugely important step that acknowledges the often very significant impact of pre-24 week loss, not only for those experiencing the physical loss, but for their partners too.”

The Bottom Line:

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the change will give “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 said.

According to the BBC, the new measures would take effect in 2027 in England, Scotland, and Wales, but not in Northern Ireland.

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