MP welcomes new pregnancy loss leave rights

An MP who campaigned for bereavement leave for people who have gone through an early miscarriage has welcomed news their grief will now be recognised.

Sarah Owen, Labour MP for Luton North, has herself suffered a miscarriage and said the "overwhelming sense" she felt afterwards was of grief and loss rather than any physical issues.

The new rights will also apply to parents who experience a miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers before 24 weeks of pregnancy.

They are part of a wider bereavement leave law coming in from April, which will see employees in Great Britain who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling entitled to up to two weeks' unpaid leave.

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Owen campaigned alongside charities for years and tabled the amendment to legislation to see the changes.

Before her current role as a minister, Owen was chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and published a report calling for bereavement leave for pregnancy loss.

She said: "Nothing will ever take away the pain of losing a pregnancy, but this law change will provide workers with the security of time to grieve and help end the stigma of miscarriage for good."

For pregnancy loss, this new right will also apply to partners, the other biological parent, or intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.

Minister for the Future of Work, Kate Dearden, said: "These changes back people going through some of the hardest moments of life, whoever they are and wherever they work."

The minister said while the "vast majority" of workers have employers who already go further than these new rights including by offering paid leave, "there needs to be a safety net beyond this discretion".

Vicki Robinson, Miscarriage UK chief executive, welcomed the announcement.

"This is an important step in recognising pregnancy loss as a bereavement and the profound impact it can have, and we hope will provide a baseline for employers to go further," she said.

Bereavement support charity Sue Ryder has also called for the right to paid leave, saying bereavement can have a significant financial impact.

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