Government to extend bereavement leave as part of Employment Rights Package

Government to extend bereavement leave as part of Employment Rights Package

The Government will extend bereavement leave to allow anyone who experiences pregnancy loss at any stage, the right to time off work to grieve.

Under the current law, statutory bereavement leave is only available after 24 weeks of pregnancy, meaning anyone falling outside this period has to use sick leave to take time off. This change will remove that threshold, allowing those who experience pregnancy loss at any stage to take time off work.

Pregnancy loss will be defined in law as “the ending of a pregnancy.” The entitlement will be for at least one week of statutory leave, though final details on duration and eligibility will be confirmed through consultation.

Welcoming the move, Amanda Hack said:

“Campaigners have been calling for a change to the 24-week threshold for years to better support families who experience the heartbreak of baby loss. As a government, we are not only listening to those calls but scrapping the threshold altogether.

Losing a pregnancy at any stage is heartbreaking, extending bereavement leave will allow more families to take the time off work that they need to grieve.”

Myleene Klass, miscarriage awareness campaigner, said:

When you experience a miscarriage.. “You’re not ill—you’ve lost a child. There’s been a death in the family. It’s right that this is finally being recognised in law.”

Vicki Robinson, chief executive of the Miscarriage Association, said the move would make a big difference towards acknowledging the “emotional element” of pregnancy loss