2 weeks unpaid Bereavement Leave extended to miscarriage and early pregnancy loss up to 24 weeks: a step forward, but more is needed.
The Government has today announced new statutory bereavement leave rights, for women and birthing people, their partners, and biological partners who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
From April 2027, employees who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will be entitled to up to two weeks’ unpaid bereavement leave.
At Petals, we welcome the recognition of early pregnancy loss in bereavement rights – and the inclusion of partners – but we had hoped for more, and we will continue to advocate for the baby loss community to ensure families receive the support they need.
What has been announced?
From April 2027, employees will have a new statutory right to up to two weeks’ unpaid leave following pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
This includes:
- miscarriage
- termination of pregnancy
- unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer
The right will apply to women and their partners, as well as the other biological parent and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
The Government says this recognises that pregnancy loss affects the whole family and that everyone affected should have the opportunity to grieve and take time away from work.
The leave will be flexible. It can be taken within 56 weeks of the loss and as individual days rather than having to be taken as one block.
For bereavements within the first eight weeks, employees will only need to notify their employer as soon as reasonably practicable. Employees will not be required to provide evidence of their loss, and those taking bereavement leave will be protected from detriment or dismissal for exercising their statutory right.
How Petals contributed to the consultation
The Government’s consultation on bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss, ran from October 2025 to January 2026.
Petals – amongst many other charities – were encouraged to contribute to the consultation, and so we asked our email community to share their experiences and views through a survey. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to respond.
We read every comment and used the experiences shared with us to help shape Petals’ response. We also drew on the professional expertise of our counsellors, who support people experiencing pregnancy and baby loss every day.
The responses we received made it clear how important time away from work can be following a loss – and how important it is that this time is genuinely accessible.
Our message to the UK Government was clear:
If you lose a baby in pregnancy, you should have a minimum right to bereavement leave, whatever the circumstances or stage of pregnancy. We recommended that pregnancy loss leave should be brought in line with the existing parental bereavement leave available following the death of a child under 18.
We also made the case for:
- two weeks as a minimum
- flexibility around when the leave can be taken
- no requirement to provide evidence of the loss
- eligibility for partners and intended co-parents
- recognition of all types of baby loss
- clear guidance for employers about pregnancy and baby loss and how to support their employees
- and, importantly, paid leave.
The responses from our community helped us demonstrate the strength of feeling behind these recommendations.
Your voices were part of our response, and they have helped Petals be a part of this change.
A step forward… but not far enough
We are pleased that pregnancy loss is finally being recognised, as for many years, there has been no statutory right to bereavement leave following pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. The new legislation changes that, and we welcome the fact that partners and other intended parents will also be included.
The Government has also increased the proposed minimum period of leave from one week to two.
But the leave remains unpaid and this is where we believe there is still significant steps to be taken.
Having a legal right to take time away from work is important, but that right is harder to use if taking the leave means losing two weeks of income. For some parents, unpaid leave simply won’t be financially possible at a time when they are already dealing with the emotional and practical impact of losing a baby.
We know the mental impact it has on parents when they need to return to work too early, often between appointments (including waiting for medical procedures to end the pregnancy) or while still in pain. Up until now, this has endured without support or acknowledgement. But the lack of paid time off will leave so many parents unable to access this 2 week bereavement leave period.Â
What happens next?
The new rights are expected to come into force in April 2027, once the necessary secondary legislation has been introduced. There will also be further guidance and detail around how the new rights will work in practice.
For Petals, this isn’t the end of the conversation.
We will continue to advocate for the baby loss community at the highest levels of Government and make sure Petals remains part of conversations about improving support for the pregnancy and baby loss community.
We will continue to push for paid bereavement leave, as well as better understanding and specialist support for all families navigating the loss of a baby.
We are glad to see this small step forward. But there’s still a long way to go.
At Petals we believe that every loss deserves recognition. Every parent deserves time to grieve – and not at their expense.