Bereavement leave after pregnancy loss is changing.
The government want to hear from you, provide your feedback via the online consultation form: Make Work Pay: Consultation on leave for bereavement Including pregnancy loss (external link)
Currently, two weeks paid bereavement leave is only available to parents who lose a child under the age of 18 or experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. This is not changing.
Whilst employers may offer leave after a family or close friend bereavement (including after pregnancy loss) this is currently not protected in law. This is changing.
The UK government are considering when employees should be entitled to leave after bereavements in England, Scotland and Wales.*
* The government in Northern Ireland have announced that two weeks' paid miscarriage leave will be introduced in April 2026.
The proposal: A minimum of 1 weeks unpaid leave following a bereavement, including pregnancy loss.
The government consider that this should set a bare minimum, whilst encouraging employers to offer longer periods of leave for their staff.
We welcome that pregnancy loss is being included in bereavement leave. But one week of unpaid leave is not enough. All bereaved parents and families must be entitled to at least 2 weeks paid leave.
What happens next?
The government are currently consulting on what bereavement leave could look like and want to hear from you. This is our chance to tell them that they must offer all bereaved parents at least 2 weeks paid leave.
The consultation focuses on three main areas, and we have included some suggested key points which you may wish to include in a response:
Part one: eligibility:
- Who should be entitled to take leave when someone dies, or experiences a pregnancy loss?*
- Which experiences of pregnancy loss should be included in bereavement leave?
Part two: when and how bereavement leave can be taken:
- What should the minimum length of leave be?
- Should the length of leave be the same for all types of bereavement?
- When should leave be able to be taken and must it be taken as one leave or can it be used flexibly?
Part three: notice and evidence requirements:
- Should you have to provide evidence of a bereavement, including a pregnancy loss to be entitled to leave?
- How should you have to communicate that you are taking leave to your employer?
Other policy steps:
This is your opportunity to tell the government your thoughts on bereavement leave.
You may wish to share your personal experiences here of time off work after baby loss or you may want to suggest policy changes to help support bereaved families.
Part 1: things you may want to include:
- Bereavement leave must be available to the mother/ birthing person as well as fathers, partners and second parents.
- Bereavement leave should also be made available to the intended parents in a surrogacy agreement.
- Bereavement leave must be available to anyone who has experienced any form of pregnancy loss. The language people use to describe their experience may be very personal.
- We know that many people may not feel that their experience is included in the definitions provided by the government, please do share this with them and know that our helpline is available to support you.
Part 2: things you may want to include:
- All bereaved parents must be entitled to at least two weeks paid leave.
- Bereavement leave for pregnancy loss must be the same as the existing parental bereavement leave.
- Anyone who has experienced pregnancy or baby loss, no matter their experience, must be entitled to the same leave.
- Whilst some people may want to take leave in one block, it’s important to ensure flexibility. This enables people to use the leave however they choose, whether to take time off on special dates or for follow up appointments.
Part 3: things you may want to include:
- Bereaved parents who have experienced pregnancy loss cannot be expected to provide evidence. In some cases, no evidence will be available.
- The way bereaved parents are expected to communicate that a pregnancy loss has occurred to their employer must be flexible, this must be the same as existing parental bereavement leave ensuring all options are available.
Other policy steps: things you may want to include:
- Employers should be encouraged to undertake bereavement in the workplace training and to adopt pregnancy and baby loss policies to ensure they have the skills and policy in place to support bereaved parents.
- Some employers may offer paid sick leave, which will mean that bereaved parents choose to utilise this rather than unpaid bereavement leave. This means their employer may not be aware they have experienced pregnancy or baby loss and will not be able to support them.
- Unpaid bereavement leave will mean that both parents must choose whether to take unpaid leave at the same time to be able to support one another or take time separately.
- Bereaved parents must be entitled to leave to enable them to receive bereavement care and support. This must be paid.
- Only employees will be entitled to bereavement leave. What plans do the government have to ensure that those who are self-employed are also able to take the time they need away from work, following pregnancy or baby loss.
*Please be aware that as this consultation is seeking views on wider family bereavements and losses, it does at times separate ‘bereavement following the loss of a loved one’ from ‘bereavement following pregnancy loss’. We recognise that many people would describe pregnancy loss as the loss of a loved one. We also want to make you aware that some of the definitions used within the consultation are medicalised and there may be words or terms used which you are unfamiliar with. Please know that we are always here to support you.
This is your chance to help shape bereavement leave, to ensure that all bereaved families have access to the paid leave they need.