Following its consultation on a new ‘day one’ right to bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, the government has now published its response. The original consultation ran from October 2025 to January 2026. The purpose of the consultation was to seek views to ensure the final entitlement was balanced for both employers and employees.
The consultation received over 1,900 responses from:
- individuals
- employers
- business representative organisations
- trade union or staff associations
- legal representatives
- charity or interest groups
- academics
- academic and research associations
- other interested parties
It has been reported that the majority of respondents were supportive of the proposed bereavement leave entitlement and framework, and broadly called for the most generous options detailed in the consultation.
The government’s Make Work Pay: leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss consultation response, published on 22 September 2026, confirmed that the changes would be come into force from April 2027 and will include:
- a new right to bereavement leave for employees following the loss of an immediate family member which includes a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling. It will also include step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships who currently have no legal right to bereavement leave.
- for pregnancy loss, it will be available to the person who was pregnant, the other biological parent, the spouse, civil partner or partner, an intended co-parent, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
- women and their partners who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks – including miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers – will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave.
These changes build on the existing right to Parental Bereavement Leave for parents who experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy or the death of a child under 18.
In terms of the practicalities, the government has said that:
- up to 2 weeks unpaid leave will be available
- leave can be taken flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss and as single days rather than a full block.
- those taking leave within the first eight weeks after a bereavement will only need to notify their employer as soon as is reasonably practicable, rather than in advance. Thereafter the required notice will be one week.
- employees should not be asked or required to provide evidence of their loss
- employees taking bereavement leave will be protected from detriment or dismissal for exercising their statutory right to leave.
Secondary legislation will be required prior to implementation, and the government has said that it will publish guidance for both employers and employees closer to the time.
Although the changes are some way away, schools and trusts should be thinking ahead and ensuring that the extended statutory right to bereavement leave from April 2027 forms part of its overall people, culture and wellbeing strategy, and that all family friendly / special leave policies are up to date. It is noted that the entitlement is to unpaid leave however careful thought should be given to whether your organisation will offer enhanced pay entitlements, even if for a set number of days rather than the entire two-week period. This may be informed by existing policies on bereavement leave. If your organisation is subject to the requirements of the Academy Trust Handbook (“ATH”) you must be mindful that a decision to pay in excess of statutory or contractual entitlements may have ATH consequences particularly as regards novel, contentious and repercussive transactions.
This briefing is not intended to be a definitive statement of the law and is correct at the time of publication. It should not be taken as a substitute for professional legal advice. It does not represent the views of Winckworth Sherwood or any of the authors.
If your school or MAT require advice and assistance in relation to the new right to bereavement leave, including with regard to updating policies and procedures, or if you need support with any other school HR or employment law related matter, please contact Winckworth Sherwood’s dedicated Schools HR helpdesk on schoolshr@wslaw.co.uk or 0345 026 8690.