New bereavement leave for early pregnancy loss

The Government has confirmed a new statutory day-one right to two weeks’ bereavement leave which will include early pregnancy loss. This will support employees and their partners after a miscarriage, unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer or pregnancy termination before 24 weeks. 

Current arrangements – after 24 weeks of pregnancy 

If an employee experiences a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, they may be entitled to up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave or pay. The birth father, the birth mother’s partner or an adopter may also be entitled to up to two weeks of paternity leave or pay. 

Eligible employees can take two weeks’ statutory parental bereavement leave after their maternity or paternity leave. If they’ve worked for you for at least 26 weeks, they may also qualify for statutory parental bereavement pay, currently at £194.32 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower (figures at 30 September 2026). 

Current arrangements – before 24 weeks of pregnancy 

At the moment, there’s no statutory financial support for a miscarriage before 24 weeks beyond Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). 

If an employee needs time off after a miscarriage before 24 weeks, this should be treated as pregnancy-related sickness. You should record it separately from other sickness absence.  

And don’t count it towards review or trigger points in your absence policy. Treating someone unfavourably because of pregnancy-related absence could amount to discrimination. 

What’s changing from April 2027? 

• Bereavement leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will become law in April 2027 

• Employees affected by miscarriage, an unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer or a pregnancy termination before 24 weeks will be entitled to two weeks’ unpaid leave 

• The right will also cover partners, the other biological parent and intended parents in a surrogacy agreement 

• Employees will be able to take the leave flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss, including as individual days rather than one full block 

• If leave is taken within the first eight weeks after a loss, employees will only need to tell you as soon as reasonably possible rather than giving advance notice 

• Employees won’t need to provide evidence of the loss, helping to protect their privacy and dignity 

• Because this will be a statutory right, employees will be protected from unfair treatment or dismissal for taking the leave 

What employers need to do 

Keep an eye on the latest developments and review your leave and employee wellbeing policies now. 

Before the new right comes into force in April 2027, put a clear pregnancy loss leave policy and process in place. You’ll also need a simple way to track entitlement and leave taken. 

You don’t have to stop at the legal minimum. You could offer paid leave through a dedicated miscarriage policy or include pregnancy loss in your existing bereavement policy. 

Once the details are finalised, update your records, employee handbook and contracts where needed. 

Review your flexible working policy and think about how you’ll support employees returning to work. A phased return, temporary adjustments or home working could help. 

Make sure employees and their families know what wellbeing support is available, both during and after their leave. 

How BrightHR can help 

Find up-to-date documents in BrightBase, our library of 400+ legally compliant policies, procedures and handbooks. 

Keep leave information and HR records organised with unlimited document storage. 

Share important policy updates with your team and see who’s read them using alerts and read receipts in your HR software. 

Give employees confidential help, wellbeing support and counselling through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).