Millions of workers across Great Britain will gain a legal right to time off following a pregnancy loss or the death of a wider circle of relatives from April next year, under regulations laid before Parliament on Monday. The measure, which extends statutory unpaid bereavement leave to cover miscarriage, termination for medical reasons and failed IVF embryo transfers before the 24-week threshold, marks the first time early pregnancy loss has been recognised in employment law. It also closes a longstanding gap for step, foster and kinship families who previously had no statutory protection.
A safety net for ‘the hardest moments’
For decades, the right to parental bereavement leave has been anchored to a brutal clinical boundary: 24 weeks of gestation. Lose a baby after that point, and the law acknowledges your grief with two weeks of statutory leave. Lose one before it, and you are reliant on the discretion of your employer. That distinction ends next spring. Under the new regulations, born of the Employment Rights Act 2025, any employee who experiences a pregnancy loss — whether through miscarriage, a termination following a fatal foetal anomaly diagnosis, or an unsuccessful embryo transfer — will be entitled to up to a fortnight of unpaid leave. The right extends to the pregnant woman, her partner, the other biological parent, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
Work Minister Kate Dearden framed the change as a moral necessity. “No-one should have to fight for time to grieve,” she said. “These changes back people going through some of the hardest moments of life, whoever they are and wherever they work.” The Minister paid explicit tribute to the campaigners — many of them grieving parents — whose testimony forced the issue onto the legislative agenda.
Redefining ‘family’ in the workplace
The expansion does not stop at pregnancy. The statutory definition of “relative” is being redrawn to reflect the complexity of modern family structures. From April, the leave entitlement will cover the death of a spouse or civil partner, a parent, an adult child, or a sibling. Crucially, step-relatives, half-relatives, foster carers, kinship carers and adoptive relationships are all explicitly included. Until now, a foster carer who had raised a child for years had no legal right to a single day of statutory bereavement leave if that child died. That anomaly is removed.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said the reforms were designed to end “inconsistency and confusion” following a consultation that drew broad support. More than eight in ten employers and nine in ten business representative organisations backed a statutory right for immediate family bereavement. The government argues that while most employers are compassionate, a legal floor is essential for those who are not.
Campaigners welcome progress but press for paid leave
The response from advocacy groups and unions has been broadly positive, though tempered by a persistent demand: the leave must be paid. Vicki Robinson, chief executive of Miscarriage UK, called the announcement “an important step in recognising pregnancy loss as a bereavement and the profound impact it can have.” She added that the charity “strongly believes bereavement leave should be paid” and will continue pressing for that change through its Leave for Every Loss campaign.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, echoed the sentiment. “No one experiencing the devastating loss of a loved one or a pregnancy should have to worry that they cannot take the time off to grieve,” he said. “Most employers already provide workers with time off after bereavement. But these new protections will make sure all working families have the time and space they need during some of life’s toughest moments.”
Why it Matters
This legislation finally drags employment law into alignment with the reality of reproductive health and modern kinship. One in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage; thousands more end in termination for medical reasons or failed fertility treatment. Until now, the law treated these losses as private misfortunes rather than public health events warranting workplace protection. By extending statutory recognition to early pregnancy loss and non-traditional family bonds, the government has established a baseline of dignity. The fact that the leave remains unpaid is a significant limitation — grief does not pause the rent — but the principle is now settled. The next parliamentary term will almost certainly see pressure to attach pay to the right, completing a framework that treats bereavement not as a perk of a good employer, but as a right of citizenship.
