Workers in Great Britain will have the right to take up to two weeks off work after the death of a close relative, under new laws coming in next April.
The right will be introduced under the Employment Rights Act, passed in December 2025. It will apply from day one of employment and will be unpaid.
Currently, employers aren’t legally obliged to give workers time off after experiencing a loss, but the government said the new rule would ‘bring the UK’s laws into the 21st century’.
From April 2027, the law will cover the death of a partner, parent or sibling, including step and half-relatives. It will also include adoptive, foster and kinship families, where a child is cared for by relatives or friends.
Lucy Peake, chief executive of the charity Kinship, said: ‘Kinship families grieve the loss of a loved one just like any other family, and this right to take time off work will help ensure they are treated fairly alongside other bereaved families.’
The new legislation will also allow people who have experienced a pregnancy loss to take time off work. This includes miscarriage, termination and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers.
Partners, the other biological parent and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement will also be entitled to the leave. Workers will be able to take the two weeks flexibly within 56 weeks of the pregnancy ending.
Luton North MP Sarah Owen, who has campaigned on pregnancy loss after speaking about her own miscarriage, said: ‘Today, the government has announced it is bringing in statutory bereavement leave for pre-24 week pregnancy loss from next April.
‘This will make a huge difference to women and their partners who experience the pain of losing a pregnancy – and finally recognise it as the bereavement that it is.
‘A huge thank you to all who have joined me in campaigning for this crucial change. This is the difference a Labour government makes.’
Minister for the Future of Work Kate Dearden added: ‘No one should have to fight for time to grieve. These changes back people going through some of the hardest moments of life, whoever they are and wherever they work.’
Image: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen/UnSplash
In related news:
Leave a Reply