Government backs proposal for paid bereavement leave to cover miscarriage

The Government has agreed to ensure women and their partners are entitled to paid bereavement leave if they experience a miscarriage.

Business minister Justin Madders said the Government “fully accepts” the principle of bereavement leave for pregnancy loss and will work with MPs and peers to amend the Employment Rights Bill.

His commitment came in response to amendments tabled by Labour MP Sarah Owen, who chairs the Women and Equalities Committee which recommended changes to the law.

Since April 2020 employees can be eligible for statutory parental bereavement leave and pay if there is a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, but there is no specific leave for a pre-24 week loss in the form of miscarriage.

In January, the committee said the two-week leave period should be also made available to those bereaved as a result of pre-24 week pregnancy loss.

The committee said an estimated more than one in five pregnancies end before 24 weeks, with between 10% and 20% of pregnancies ending in the first 12 weeks, known as early miscarriage.

Mr Madders, speaking during the Bill’s report stage, told the Commons on Tuesday: “I am grateful to the work of the Women and Equalities Committee for raising the important issue of miscarriage leave.

“The loss of a baby at any stage is an incredibly difficult personal experience and the inquiry they conducted demonstrated a clear gap in support for those who experience pregnancy loss and need time to recover and grieve.”

Mr Madders said Ms Owen has shown “great courage” in previously speaking of her own loss, and he also paid tribute to campaigners.

The minister said: “We have heard them. We fully accept the principle of bereavement leave for pregnancy loss, as raised in the amendments, and we look forward to further discussions with (Ms Owen) and (peers) as the Bill moves on to its next stages in the Lords.

“Bereavement is not an illness, it’s not a holiday and it does need its own special category.”

Ms Owen appeared to become emotional as she spoke during the debate, she said: “It doesn’t just provide rights, but goes a long way into furthering how we talk about pregnancy loss in society as a whole. That miscarriage is no longer ignored, that it is no longer stigmatised as a sickness.

“People have been moved to tears of joy, relief and raw emotion that their loss is now acknowledged and things will change. Later tonight, in the privacy of my home, I’ll probably be one of those too.”

She added: “This change means that law will finally catch up with society’s views on pregnancy loss. It is a giant leap forward in the recognition that miscarrying is a bereavement, not an illness, and workers will legally have the right to grieve.”

Mr Madders also addressed amendments linked to better protections for domestic abuse victims, including a call from Independent MP Apsana Begum (Poplar and Limehouse) for survivors to receive a minimum of 10 days’ leave.

He said: “We strongly encourage employers to support staff who experience domestic abuse. Many already do this through their membership of the employers’ initiative on domestic abuse, which empowers employers to tackle domestic abuse.

“The Employment Rights Bill includes provisions to make flexible working easy to request, which we know can be of great help to those experiencing domestic abuse – they may need to take time from work for appointments for domestic abuse-related matters.”

Mr Madders said he has spoken to MPs about their concerns, adding “every part of this Government will need to contribute” towards its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

He said: “We will be publishing a cross-government, violence against women and girls strategy shortly and I intend to work with colleagues to make sure that we, as a department, can do our bit in respect of that.”

Mr Madders also noted an amendment tabled by Labour former minister Louise Haigh and Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) which sought to prevent non-disclosure agreements from stopping workers making a disclosure about harassment.

He said: “This is an important issue that warrants further consideration.”

The Bill as a whole aims to deliver the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights in a generation, although it is feared some of the changes could cost businesses almost £5 billion annually.

Policies such as day-one protections from unfair dismissals and ensuring guaranteed hours on zero-hours contracts are “likely to have a disproportionate cost to small and micro businesses”, according to an economic analysis of the Bill published by the Department for Business and Trade.

Shadow business minister Greg Smith said the Government should have taken more time to develop its proposals given it was still bringing forward several pages of amendments.

He said: “Fundamentally, this is a bad Bill. Whilst it contains many good measures, many well intentioned measures, they have failed to get the balance right between employees and employers.

“And whilst I welcome some of the comments the minister made in his opening remarks, not least on the point he knows we have agreement from our debate in the Bill committee on bereavement leave for pregnancy loss, I’m afraid for the vast majority of this Bill, the balance has, in fact, been got wrong.”