Women who suffer a miscarriage should get two weeks of paid leave from work so they can mourn the loss of their baby, an influential group of MPs has said today.
The government is under mounting pressure to introduce a new right of bereavement leave for women across the UK who lose their baby before 24 weeks’ gestation. That happens 250,000 times every year.
Although a growing number of employers already offer the leave as a discretionary extra benefit, the Commons women and equalities committee said it needs to become a universal right – and also for women’s partners – given the far-reaching physical and emotional impacts of baby loss.
It would be a compassionate move and give those who have had a miscarriage “time to grieve”, they say.
More than one in five of all pregnancies ends in a miscarriage. Most occur in the first 12 weeks, and are classed as early miscarriages, with far fewer happening between 13 and 24 weeks. About one in five women will experience a miscarriage at some point.
If ministers accept amendments to the employment rights bill bringing forward the change, women who undergo a miscarriage would no longer have to take sick leave afterwards.
“I was not prepared for the shock of miscarrying at work during my first pregnancy. Like many women, I legally had to take sick leave,” said Sarah Owen, the Labour MP who chairs the committee.
“But I was grief-stricken, not sick, harbouring a deep sense of loss. Miscarriage and pregnancy losses can be devastating for women and their families, with both emotional and physical consequences. Such experiences are sadly not uncommon and yet current legislation has not caught up with this stark reality.”
The change would give women who have a miscarriage the same right that those who have a stillbirth – the loss of a baby after 24 weeks of pregnancy but before its birth – already have.
Since 2020, employees have been eligible to get statutory parental bereavement leave and pay if they or their partner has had a stillbirth. That is paid at £184.03 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower – the same rate as maternity, paternity and shared parental leave.
Owen plans to table amendments to the bill to enact the change. She appealed to ministers to support her proposals, which will be laid on the committee’s behalf, or bring forward their own provisions to ensure that the law is changed, so “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, the 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.
“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.”
Polling undertaken for the charity last year found that nine out of 10 (89%) people believe that the loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy is seen as a bereavement.
Clea Harmer, the chief executive of the baby loss charity Sands, said: “Sands supports bereaved parents who tell us that having to rely on the goodwill of their employer for time off after pregnancy loss is unfair. We agree.
“Giving staff paid time to recover after pregnancy loss is very important for those affected, so they can be treated with compassion and given time to grieve, and return to work once their physical and mental wellbeing has improved.”
The cross-party committee of MPs made their plea in a new report published today. While many private sector firms and NHS England already offer bereavement leave in the event of a miscarriage, many still do not, the report says.
The existing lottery of provision should be replaced with a new right that anyone can avail themselves of, said Owen, adding: “The case for a minimum standard in law is overwhelming.”
Angela McConville, the chief executive of the parenting charity NCT, said: “Every parent should have the space to grieve with the support of equitable, compassionate and flexible workplace bereavement policies.”
Miscarriage bereavement leave is “desperately needed and long overdue”, the GMB union added.
The Department for Work and Pensions has been approached for comment.
