Sue Dowling and Ella Halsall, in our Employment Law team, discuss the recent planned expansion of bereavement leave to employees who have experienced pregnancy loss in the first 24 weeks.
* Trigger Warning: This article discusses topics related to pregnancy loss and may be distressing for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Families experiencing pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will be entitled to bereavement leave in the latest update to the Government’s wider effort to improve Worker’s Rights.
What is being introduced, and why it matters?
Campaigners rejoiced as the Government announced on Monday 7 July a new amendment to the Employment Rights Bill (the “Bill”) which proposes to extend the right to bereavement leave to families who have suffered miscarriage or other means of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Sarah Owen MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said: “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.”
The Government estimates that there are around 250,000 pregnancy losses caused by miscarriages in the UK each year, with a further 12,000 impacted by loss due to ectopic pregnancies.
How does this differ from current law?
Currently, employees are only entitled to statutory Parental Bereavement Leave if they had experienced the loss of a child under 18 or experienced pregnancy loss after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Those falling outside of this criterion would need to seek leave by other means, often relying on the good grace of employers to grant time off to grieve by using sick leave or holiday allowance.
The newly proposed amendment to the Bill and the shift it represents has been widely applauded as an important and significant step towards miscarriage awareness.
What should employers do now, and when can we expect the changes to come into effect?
These latest updates to the law fit into the wider overhaul of workers’ rights being actioned by the Government, alongside the banning of zero-hour contracts, the end to fire-and-rehire, greater protections against sexual harassment in the workplace and many others.
The Government has published a road map which sets out the implementation of the Bill and its many facets. This provides a helpful timeline which employers should keep a watchful eye on for further guidance. It would be good practice for employers looking to stay ahead of these changes to begin auditing their current policies and reviewing their existing contracts and workflows.
Currently the Bill is with the House of Lords completing the Report Stage before its 3rd reading and then moves to consideration of amendments before (hopefully!) receiving Royal Assent. Until the Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act, it is not law but the terms of the Bill are something which both employers and employees should have ‘on their radar’. We will update you if and when the Bill passes as well as any significant potential changes to the Bill itself.
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This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
