Parents who lose pregnancy before 24 weeks to be entitled to bereavement leave
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said 'no-one who is going through the heartbreak of pregnancy loss should have to go back to work before they are ready' (Leon Neal/PA)
Under current rules, parents are entitled to up to two weeks of bereavement leave if a child dies before they turn 18, or they experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, will see the right to 'at least one week's leave' expanded to people who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks. The exact length of the leave will be specified in later legislation after a consultation.
The Bill already makes provision to expand bereavement leave, giving employees protected time off to grieve the loss of a loved one.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said that the amendments will offer 'dignity and respect'.
'For many families, including mine, that have been affected by pregnancy loss, the decision around returning to work or taking sick leave to grieve properly can make an already painful experience even more difficult,' he said.
'Grief doesn't follow a timetable, and expanding rights to leave for pregnancy loss will ensure every family gets the time they need to heal without worrying about their job.'
Deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner similarly said that 'no-one who is going through the heartbreak of pregnancy loss should have to go back to work before they are ready'.
'I am proud that this Government is introducing a day-one right to protected time off work after experiencing pregnancy loss, giving people time away from work to grieve and spend time with their families,' she said.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the amendments would offer 'dignity and respect' (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
Vicki Robinson, chief executive of the Miscarriage Association, welcomed the announcement, saying it was 'a hugely important step that acknowledges the often very significant impact of pre-24-week loss, not only for those experiencing the physical loss, but for their partners too'.
It comes after ministers announced they would review the system of parental leave, declaring that the current system is 'not working' for families.
Mr Reynolds said the Government will investigate the whole system for supporting new parents to take time off work when they have a baby, including maternity leave, paternity leave and shared arrangements.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Ministers in talks with City over climate finance for disaster-hit nations
The Foreign Secretary has pledged £12 million from the Government's tightened aid budget in a bid to enable faster payouts for nations experiencing climate shocks like hurricanes and tornadoes. Mr Lammy will join the Chancellor, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Environment Secretary Steve Reed for the first meeting between multiple Cabinet ministers and finance leaders on Tuesday. The group is expected to discuss how the sector can play a part in channelling investment into climate initiatives in emerging markets. The Government hopes the £12 million for pre-arranged finance for disaster relief and risk insurance will cut the cost of responding to extreme weather events, and the time it takes for countries to recover from such shocks. This funding is triggered by certain warning signs — such as a forecast or weather event itself — to enable faster payouts, the Foreign Office said. It comes after the Government slashed the UK's overseas aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in order to pay for increased defence spending. The UK's climate finance commitments come from its aid budget. The Foreign Secretary said: 'The climate and nature crisis is the greatest global challenge we face. Failure to act will cause unprecedented environmental damage, fuelling displacement, conflict and famine. 'Tackling this crisis is also a huge opportunity for people and businesses here in the UK, delivering on our Plan for Change. The green sector is worth trillions of pounds, and I'm determined that we seize on the economic growth, jobs and security it offers. 'The City of London, the world's leading sustainable development financing hub, has a crucial role to play in this.'
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Public inquiry begins into ‘horrific' Southport murders
Chairman Sir Adrian Fulford, a former vice-president of the Court of Appeal, will begin proceedings with an opening statement at Liverpool Town Hall. And on Wednesday, the inquiry will hear evidence from four families whose children were injured in the attack. A key question for the inquiry is whether the attack could or should have been prevented, given what was known about the killer. Axel Rudakubana was given a life sentence in January, with a minimum term of 52 years – one of the highest minimum terms on record – for murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 last year. The 18-year-old also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Sir Adrian said: 'Today, just less than a year since one of the most horrific crimes in our country's history took place in Southport, we open the independent inquiry into the events surrounding the attack and events leading up to it. 'Tomorrow I will then begin to hear from some of the families whose children were injured on that terrible day. 'We will hold two days of hearings this week and then resume hearings on September 8 at Liverpool Town Hall when I will hear from more of the victims, survivors and their families. 'My focus throughout this inquiry will be a thorough and forensic investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the attack and the events leading up to it. 'This will include the perpetrator's history and interactions with all the relevant agencies, how they shared information and responded to the risks that he posed. I will then move into a second phase next year where I will consider the wider issues of children and young people being drawn into extreme violence. 'As chair of this inquiry, I am committed to proceeding at pace and with rigour whilst balancing the needs of those who live with the continued trauma of what happened in Southport in July 2024.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the public inquiry in January to help understand what went wrong and prevent any repetition of similar incidents. Three separate referrals were made to the Government's counter-terror programme Prevent about Rudakubana's behaviour in the years before the attack, as well as six separate calls to police. A review into the Prevent referrals published in February found there was sufficient risk posed by Rudakubana to keep his cases within Prevent active but that these were closed prematurely while too much focus was placed on a lack of distinct ideology. The inquiry will draw on evidence from interviews with witnesses and disclosure from 15 organisations, including MI5, Counter-Terrorism Policing, NHS England and Merseyside Police. The widespread rioting and civil unrest following the murders is not being examined by the inquiry. Rachael Wong, director at law firm Bond Turner, representing the three bereaved families, said: 'We know that nothing the inquiry reveals or subsequently recommends will change the unimaginable loss felt by the families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe, but we all now have a responsibility to ensure that something like this never happens again. 'We will be doing all we can to assist the chair through the inquiry and uncover the truth. 'It is only through intense public scrutiny that real change can be effected.' The inquiry begins at 2pm.
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Long-running road and rail projects to go ahead after year-long pause
The decision will see major road and rail projects outside London and the South East go ahead, backed by £92 billion from last month's spending review. Most have been in the works for several years, and many have already received planning permission. But their future was thrown into doubt last year when Labour announced a review of transport infrastructure projects, saying the previous Conservative government had promised to deliver some without putting enough money forward. In a statement to Parliament, then-transport secretary Louise Haigh accused the Tories of leaving a £2.9 billion gap between what it had announced and what it had funded. Almost a year after launching its internal review, the Government has now decided to press on with five major road schemes, five rail projects and 28 smaller road schemes, saying they will cut journey times, ease congestion, create jobs and support new housing. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'Transport is the backbone of our economy, which is why we are giving them the record funding boost they need, putting taxpayers' money where it matters most and making everyday journeys easier. 'With over £92 billion investment, including the biggest ever boost for city regions in the North and Midlands, we're delivering the schemes that fast-track economic growth and jobs, connect communities, and will help us build 1.5 million new homes, as we deliver our plan for change.' Preparatory work for some of the projects has continued despite the pause, but Tuesday's announcement means they can now proceed in full. For some projects, supporters will hope the backing marks the final stage of a long-running process. One, a widening of the A66 Trans-Pennine route, was first proposed in 2016, while the reopening of the railway between Portishead and Bristol has been the subject of a 25-year campaign. The A66 upgrade was given planning permission in March 2024, but was delayed by an ultimately unsuccessful legal challenge and put on hold by the new Government's review. Construction is now expected to start this winter. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak, whose constituency is served by the A66, welcomed the announcement, saying it would improve 'journey reliability' given the existing road's 'poor safety record'. The Portishead line, reopening a railway that was closed in the 1960s, was also thrown into question by the review, but then West of England mayor Dan Norris announced funding had been secured in February this year. On Tuesday, the Government announced it would invest another £27 million in the project, which it said would 'connect an additional 50,000 people' and support 'a significant new housing development'. Other major road schemes confirmed on Tuesday include the M54-M6 link, the M60 Simister Island junction near Manchester, the A38 Derby junctions and improvements to the A46 Newark bypass. Both the Simister Island and Newark bypass projects are yet to receive planning permission. The Government has also confirmed its commitment to build new stations at Wellington and Cullompton in the South West and Haxby in Yorkshire, which had all been part of the Conservatives' Restoring Your Railway project that was scrapped when Labour came to power. Funding for the stations, along with the Midlands Rail Hub plan to add 300 trains a day to the West Midlands network, was previously announced at last month's spending review. Other, smaller, schemes include improvements to the Middlewich Eastern Bypass, in Cheshire, and the A382 between Drumbridges and Newton Abbot, in Devon. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the investments were 'long overdue' and would 'transform local communities and improve living standards across the country'. But the Conservatives accused the Government of using the announcement as a 'distraction tactic'. Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said: 'Labour are re-announcing projects that are already under way in order to distract from their failing economic strategy of high tax and high borrowing. They just don't have a plan. 'Rachel Reeves's catastrophic economic mismanagement and Keir Starmer's total inability to control his own party has led to a string of unfunded U-turns, meaning that more tax rises are coming.'
