Until recently, if an employee experienced the death of a loved one, they would not be entitled in law to any time off and would have to rely on the kindness of their employer to allow them a period of leave. While most employers will be sympathetic in this situation, it is far from ideal to rely on this and it can lead to a situation where employees will receive different treatment depending upon who they are employed by.
Although there is still no general statutory right to compassionate leave, parents are now able to take a period of two weeks of paid leave from work if their child passes away. This applies to a child under the age of 18 years and a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Currently, there is no right to time off where an individual or couple suffer a miscarriage prior to 24 weeks of pregnancy, despite this being an extremely distressing event to go through. It may be that the majority of employers would be willing to provide compassionate leave in this situation, however an employee may feel that they are not able to request this, particularly if they had not yet announced the pregnancy to their employer.
An employee who has gone through a miscarriage may be signed off by her doctor for physical recovery. Additionally, both partners may be signed off in relation to the psychological toll that such an event may have and, in those circumstances, they could take sick leave. Other than taking a period of annual leave, if their employer agrees with short notice, these are currently the only options available to an employee in terms of legal entitlement.
In what will be a welcome step forward, under the Employment Rights Bill, it has been proposed that bereavement leave will be extended to employees and their partners who suffer a pregnancy loss prior to 24 weeks. To date, there has been no indication that the time off would be paid and it is not currently clear as to what the duration of time off will be.
Last month, the government launched a consultation on the proposed bereavement leave, seeking views on the eligibility for leave, the nature of the relationship with loved ones, types of pregnancy loss that should be in scope, when and how the leave should be taken, and how employees should give notice and provide evidence. The consultation is due to run until January 2026 and the government has indicated that this new right is likely to come into effect in 2027.
With pregnancy loss leave likely to become a statutory right in the near future, it is a good time to review and update HR policies on bereavement and compassionate leave. Having a policy in place can ensure that employees can access the information they need without the added stress of navigating conversations with their manager or HR during a deeply personal time. It also reassures them that the organisation understands the toll that pregnancy loss can take and is prepared to provide them with the time needed to recover.
Amanda Trewhella is an employment director at Freeths
