Employees in the UK are only eligible for parental bereavement leave if they or their partner have suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, but this may soon change.
Speaking to MPs, Business Minister Justin Madders said that he will be looking into extending the leave to before 24 weeks and make it part of the proposed Employment Rights Bill currently making its way through the House of Commons.
Madder was responding to a call by Labour MP Sarah Owen, the chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, to change the law. She previously suffered a miscarriage that left her unable to sleep or eat. “I really did not hold much hope that life would ever get brighter”, Owen recalled.
“Bereavement is not an illness, it’s not a holiday and it does need its own special category”, Madders responded this week. “I am grateful to the work of the Women and Equalities Committee for raising the important issue of miscarriage leave.
“The loss of a baby at any stage is an incredibly difficult personal experience and the inquiry they conducted demonstrated a clear gap in support for those who experience pregnancy loss and need time to recover and grieve.”
Shadow Conservative Business Minister Greg Smith also backs the measure. Another amendment proposes to make paternity leave a right from day one of employment rather than the current 26 weeks.
In February 2024, a baby loss certificate scheme was launched, allowing parents in England to gain official recognition for the loss of an unborn baby under 24 weeks since September 2018. Last October, the scheme was extended to babies lost at any time in the past.
As of October 2024, over 50,000 certificates had been issued. Pregnancy losses after 24 weeks are registered as stillbirths.
A memorial book for babies lost under 24 weeks has been introduced in Scotland.
Last year, it was also announced that NHS England would extend paid leave to staff who suffer a miscarriage under 24 weeks. A trial of the extended measure at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Hospital Trust found that staff were twice as likely to remain working there as a result.
An estimated 250,000 pregnancies end through miscarriage every year in the UK, with the majority happening during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Half of UK adults report that they, or a person known to them, have suffered a miscarriage or baby loss.
A Pregnancy Loss Review, published in 2023, made 73 recommendations “intended to support the government and the NHS in creating a forward-looking approach to improve the safety and care experience for all those who have a pre-24-week baby loss”, including a certificate of baby loss.
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