The Women and Equalities Committee’s report, ‘Equality at work: Miscarriage and bereavement leave’, published on 15 January 2025, addresses critical gaps in employment law relating to pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
It is estimated that more than one in five pregnancies end before 24 weeks and yet there is no statutory acknowledgement of the grief and impact on the working lives of those who experience this loss. Experiences of pregnancy loss are wide-ranging but can have a severe physical and emotional impact.
The report provides an important opportunity for employers to reflect on how workplace policies can better cater employee’s well-being during times of loss, even where the statutory regime does not.
Parental Bereavement Leave – Current Legal Position
Currently statutory parental bereavement leave and pay is available only for parents who experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or the death of a child under 18. The entitlement is two weeks leave, which parents can take together as a two-week block or individually in two separate weeks. Statutory parental bereavement pay is £184.03 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
For those who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, there is no provision for parental bereavement leave. Instead, it may be possible to claim sick leave or sick pay, use annual leave or take a period of special leave instead. The Women and Equalities Committee’s report highlights the inadequacy of this, for a variety of reasons including:
- describing a pregnancy loss as sick leave is insensitive and can be dismissive of the loss suffered by the parents;
- sick leave reporting and policies can be onerous and may require disclosure of the reason for the sickness, usually to an absence reporting line accessible by a number of staff, which would be inappropriate where the reason is pregnancy loss related;
- the burden of getting a GP appointment to get a Fit Note for any period of absence exceeding 7 days;
- anxieties around trigger points under sickness absence management procedures.
Legislative Reform
The Women and Equalities Committee have called for the wide-ranging Employments Rights Bill to be amended to extend statutory parental bereavement leave and pay to include parents who experience pregnancy loss pre 24 weeks. Pregnancy loss includes; miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, IVF embryo transfer loss and molar pregnancies.
Employer-led Initiatives
The report also highlighted progressive policies adopted by certain employers, that go beyond the current legal framework. For example, NHS England implemented a policy in March 2024 offering up to 10 days of paid leave for employees experiencing pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, and 5 days for their partners. An assessment of the pilot scheme found that on average 5.5 of the 10 available days of leave were taken. Numerous benefits were shown such as a huge increase in how ‘supported mentally’ employees felt and an increase in how likely employees would stay at their place of work. Many employers and businesses have suggested that the proposed amendment would be too costly. NHS England, the largest public sector employer in England, has described the financial cost of the scheme as “pretty marginal” before even considering the benefits for staff retention, engagement and productivity.
Conclusion
If the proposed amendment is accepted, the Employment Rights Bill may be amended to extend statutory parental bereavement leave to pre 24 week pregnancy loss. However, regardless of whether the amendments are incorporated into the Bil, schools and trust should consider whether they wish to adopt a more favourable parental bereavement policy beyond the legal minimum. For example, many schools and trusts have adopted menopause at work policies, despite there being no legal requirement to do so.
Implementing comprehensive pregnancy loss and parental bereavement leave policies can help promote a compassionate workplace culture and enhance employee retention with only marginal financial cost being felt by the employer. Schools and trusts should consider this as part of their general employee wellbeing strategy.
If you require further advice or assistance including with reviewing your policies or with any other schools HR or employment law matter, please contact the Schools HR team on schoolshr@wslaw.co.uk or 0345 026 8690.