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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [POLITICS]

2 clusters · 11 sources · 4 days · First seen · Last updated

UK statutory bereavement leave reforms

Overview

The UK Government has announced reforms to statutory bereavement leave rights, scheduled to take effect in April 2027. The new measures expand the scope of eligible relationships to include step, half, adoptive, foster, and kinship care connections. Under these rules, employees will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave following the death of a spouse, partner, parent, adult child, or sibling.

A significant component of the reform is the introduction of a day-one legal right to unpaid bereavement leave for pregnancy loss occurring before 24 weeks. This coverage includes miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, terminations, and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers. The entitlement applies to women, their partners, the other biological parent, and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements.

Employees may take the leave flexibly as individual days or as two consecutive weeks within 56 weeks of the loss, without being required to provide evidence. While advocacy groups have welcomed the protections, some, such as Miscarriage UK, continue to campaign for the leave to be paid rather than unpaid.

Entities

Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade · Kate Dearden · Miscarriage UK · Together for Short Lives · Employment Rights Act 2025

Timeline

  1. 4 days ago

    [POLITICS] 3 sources
    UK to introduce statutory bereavement leave for pregnancy loss

    From April 2027, employees in England, Scotland, and Wales will have a statutory right to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave following pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.

  2. 8 days ago

    [POLITICS] 8 sources
    UK Government expands statutory bereavement leave rights

    From April 2027, UK workers will gain new statutory rights to unpaid bereavement leave covering a wider range of family relationships and pregnancy losses before 24 weeks, including miscarriage and IVF failure.

Sources

basingstokegazette.co.uk · hrreview.co.uk · huffingtonpost.co.uk · independent.co.uk · miscarriageassociation.org.uk · spuc.org.uk · stephenmorgan.org.uk · togetherforshortlives.org.uk · tyla.com · upday.com · womensagenda.com.au