Women & Equalities Committee calls for urgent law change, stating case for statutory miscarriage bereavement leave is ‘overwhelming’
15th January 2025
Today we’re welcoming the news that the Women & Equalities Committee, led by Sarah Owen MP, is asking the Government to include bereavement leave for those who miscarry during pregnancy, in future employment rights laws.
A new report by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has said a period of paid leave “should be available to all women and partners who experience a pre-24-week pregnancy loss.”
The report’s central recommendation announced the Committee’s intention to table
amendments to the Government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill and called on Ministers to support or adopt them. Such a law change would bring things in line with existing provision for baby loss after 24 weeks.
The report, which was supported by the Miscarriage Association – who provided a lived experience panel and evidence from CEO, Vicki Robinson – found clear results that the impacts pre and post 24 weeks are very similarly felt as bereavement.
Currently there is no statutory acknowledgement of the grief many women and their partners will feel after a pre-24-week pregnancy loss and the effects this may have on their working lives, it said.
The physical and emotional impacts of pregnancy loss, the report noted, can be severe and comparable to other forms of bereavement, with partners of women who experience a loss also likely to experience it as a bereavement, while being a vital source of support as their partners recover.
Sick leave, it concluded, is an “inappropriate and inadequate” form of employer support in the aftermath of a miscarriage or pregnancy loss as it does not afford women adequate confidentiality or dignity and puts them at high risk of employment discrimination.
The Committee’s proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill seek to extend the same entitlements to statutory parental bereavement leave and pay as are currently
available to parents bereaved by the loss of children and stillborn babies, to employees who experience pre-24-week pregnancy losses. This would include those who experience miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, in vitro fertilisation embryo transfer loss, and terminations for medical reasons.
Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP Sarah Owen said:
“Miscarriages and pregnancy losses can be devastating for women and their families with both emotional and physical consequences. As the data shows, such experiences are sadly not uncommon and yet current legislation has not caught up with this stark reality.
“The Committee’s report found many private sector employers, plus the NHS, the largest public sector employer of women, are successfully offering paid bereavement leave for those who miscarry, but provision is not universal.”
“WEC is calling on the Government to support our amendments, or bring forward its own, to ensure that all those who experience the physical and emotional pain and grief of pregnancy and baby loss are able to access the support they need.”
Vicki Robinson, Chief Executive of the Miscarriage Association, said:
“Pregnancy loss at any gestation can be truly devastating and for most who experience it, it represents the death of their baby, regardless of how early it happens. Those grieving deserve the time and support to begin to heal without the added pressure of financial or workplace insecurity.
“We fully support the Women & Equalities committee’s proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, seeking to extend bereavement leave to employees who experience pre-24-week pregnancy losses.
“Our Leave for Every Loss campaign found overwhelming public support for equitable parental bereavement leave, with 89% of respondents agreeing that the loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy can be felt as a bereavement.
“Requiring someone to take sick leave after a miscarriage reinforces harmful feelings of failure or self-blame. While it involves physical symptoms, miscarriage is not simply an illness and it’s time for the law to reflect this.”
You can find out how to support our Leave For Every Loss campaign here.