Government announce bereavement leave for pregnancy loss

The government have announced plans to extend two weeks unpaid bereavement leave to cover step- and half-siblings, foster and adoptive relationships, and pregnancy loss including miscarriage and abortion.

The plans will come into force in April next year, and will apply to employees across Great Britain. These plans were introduced in the Employment Rights Act which was passed by Parliament last year and, following a consultation, the government have now set out the details of the new rights.

Along with granting bereavement leave for step, half, foster, and adoptive relationships, it introduces the right to bereavement leave for baby loss before 24 weeks of a pregnancy. Under previous legislation, only parents who suffered a stillbirth from 24 weeks, or the death of a child under 18, were eligible for time off.

Writing on social media, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “It's estimated that one in five women in the UK will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime. But if you lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, there is currently no legal right to bereavement leave. I don't think that's right.” He went on to say, “When you're grieving, you deserve the time and space to do that.”

The new rules entitle women and their partners to bereavement leave if they suffer the loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks through miscarriage, and because of unsuccessful IVF treatment. It also gives the right to bereavement leave if a women chooses to have an abortion to terminate a pregnancy.

The introduction of bereavement leave for those who have lost a baby through miscarriage during the first 24 weeks is a positive step forward. But it also highlights inconsistencies within the current abortion law. Abortion is currently legal up to 24 weeks in England, Scotland, and Wales. Bereavement leave for baby loss during this time rightly recognises the unborn child as a person to be loved, valued, and grieved over. Yet abortion law fails to treat that same child as a person with rights, for whom we have a duty of care.

Chief Executive of Miscarriage UK, Vicki Robinson, said: “This is an important step in recognising pregnancy loss as a bereavement and the profound impact it can have, and we hope will provide a baseline for employers to go further. We still strongly believe bereavement leave should be paid, and we will continue to press for this”.