Two weeks to grieve: the new right that covers miscarriage too
What happened
On 22 September 2026 the government set out new rights to time off work after a death in the family. For the first time, those rights will also cover losing a pregnancy. The announcement came from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. The minister for the future of work, Kate Dearden, said: "No one should have to fight for time to grieve. These changes back people going through some of the hardest moments of life." Here is what is changing. Employees will get a legal right to bereavement leave when a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling dies. That list is wider than it first looks. It takes in step, half and adoptive relationships, as well as kinship care and foster relationships. Separately, people who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks will be able to take up to two weeks of unpaid leave. That covers miscarriage. It also covers terminations and IVF embryo transfers that do not work. This part does not only apply to the woman. It also applies to partners, to the other biological parent, and to intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement. The practical details matter, so they are worth listing plainly. The leave is flexible. You have 56 weeks to take it, and you can take it as single days rather than in one block. In the first eight weeks you do not have to give your employer any notice. You do not have to provide evidence of the loss. And you are legally protected from being treated badly or dismissed for taking it. It is a day-one right. That means it applies from your first day in a job, however long you have been there. The rights sit within the Employment Rights Act 2025. They will be brought in through secondary legislation and are due to start in April 2027.
Why this matters
Around one in five women in the UK experience a miscarriage at some point in their lives. That is a very large number of people. Until now, none of them had a legal right to time off to grieve it. What happened instead depended almost entirely on the employer. Some were kind and gave paid leave without being asked. Others offered nothing, and people had to book annual leave or call in sick to cope with something that was neither a holiday nor an illness. That gap left people doing an odd and painful thing: explaining a private loss to a line manager in order to justify a day off, at the exact moment they had the least energy for it. The new rules remove several of those hurdles deliberately. No evidence. No notice in the first eight weeks. No qualifying period. Each of those is a small barrier taken away at a moment when small barriers feel enormous. The wider bereavement right matters too. Many people assume there is already a legal right to time off when a parent or sibling dies. In most cases there is not. There is a right to "reasonable" unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant, and there has been a right to two weeks' leave after the death of a child since 2020. For an adult sibling, or a parent, or a partner, the position has been much less clear. There is one honest limit worth naming. This leave is unpaid. For people on lower incomes, two weeks without pay may simply not be affordable, and the right on paper may not become a right in practice. Some employers already pay for bereavement leave, and many more may choose to. But the law here sets a floor, not a ceiling.
What the evidence actually says
It is worth being careful about what is known here and what is not. What is confirmed is the policy itself. The government has published the entitlements, and they are due to start in April 2027. The exact wording will come in secondary legislation, expected early in 2027, so some fine detail could still shift. The figure of roughly one in five women experiencing miscarriage comes from the government's own announcement. It is a lifetime figure, not an annual one, and it refers to recognised pregnancies. One of the more striking numbers is about employers rather than employees. The government reported that more than 80% of employers, and more than 90% of business representative organisations, supported the change. That is unusually high agreement for an employment law measure, and it suggests the change is catching up with what many workplaces already do rather than forcing something new on them. Charities working in this area have welcomed it. Vicki Robinson of Miscarriage UK said it was "an important step in recognising pregnancy loss as a bereavement and the profound impact it can have". What the evidence does not tell us is how much difference it will make. There is no study yet on whether a legal right to unpaid leave improves recovery, mental health or the chance of returning to work well, because the right does not exist yet. That is not a reason to doubt it. It is simply a reason to describe it as a change in the law, rather than a proven health intervention.
Practical advice
If this affects you or someone close to you, a few things are worth knowing now. The new rights do not start until April 2027. Until then, your position depends on your contract and your employer's policy. It is worth finding out what that policy says before you ever need it. Many staff handbooks have a bereavement or compassionate leave section that is more generous than the law requires. If you are grieving now, you do not have to wait for a new law to ask for help. Speak to your GP if grief is affecting your sleep, your eating or your ability to function. Grief is not a mental illness, but it can turn into depression or anxiety, and those are treatable. If you are a manager, note the parts of the new rules that are about dignity rather than administration. No evidence required. No notice needed early on. You can start working that way now. You do not need to wait for 2027 to stop asking someone to prove a miscarriage. If you are supporting someone, practical help usually lands better than words. Meals, lifts, picking up a prescription, taking something off their list. People who are grieving often find it very hard to ask. And keep an eye on medicines. Grief disrupts routine, and disrupted routine is one of the most common reasons people miss doses or run out of repeat prescriptions without noticing. If you look after someone who takes regular medication, a quiet check on their supply is a kind thing to do.
What to know
From April 2027, employees in Great Britain will have a legal right to bereavement leave when a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling dies, including step, half, adoptive, kinship and foster relationships. Separately, people who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave, and that right extends to partners, the other biological parent and intended parents in surrogacy. The leave is a day-one right. It can be taken flexibly across 56 weeks, needs no notice in the first eight weeks, requires no evidence, and comes with protection against dismissal or unfair treatment. It is unpaid, which is a real limit. And the detailed regulations are still to come. Until April 2027, your employer's own policy is what applies. Sources: GOV.UK (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade), "No one should have to fight for time to grieve: new rights for family bereavement and pregnancy loss", 22 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/no-one-should-have-to-fight-for-time-to-grieve-new-rights-for-family-bereavement-and-pregnancy-loss; Personnel Today, "New bereavement leave rights to commence in April 2027", September 2026, https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/bereavement-leave-rights-pregnancy-loss-april-2027/; Sands, "Miscarriage bereavement leave rights in the UK", https://www.sands.org.uk/miscarriage-bereavement-leave-rights-uk This article is for general information about employment rights and health. It does not replace legal advice, or advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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