Workers in Great Britain who experience a miscarriage will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave from April 2027 under expanded employment rights announced by the government.
The new legal entitlement will apply to parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy, extending bereavement protections beyond the existing rules.
The right will also cover pregnancy loss involving terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers. It will apply to women and their partners, as well as the other biological parent or intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
The Employment Rights Act, which became law in December 2025, established a legal right to unpaid bereavement leave from the first day of employment. Previously, legal bereavement leave applied to parents who lost a child under 18 or whose child was stillborn from 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Employees will be able to take the leave flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss rather than as a single block.
The government said the wider rules would provide a minimum level of protection for workers experiencing pregnancy loss.
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, whoever they are and wherever they work.”
Miscarriage UK described the announcement as “an important step in recognising pregnancy loss as a bereavement”.
Chief Executive Vicki Robinson said she hoped it would “provide a baseline for employers to go further”, with the charity calling for bereavement leave to be paid.
Bereavement support charity Sue Ryder has also called for paid leave, saying bereavement can have a significant financial impact.
The new rules will also extend bereavement leave to people who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling, including step and half relatives, as well as adoptive, foster and kinship care relationships.
The Confederation of British Industry said many employers already provide compassionate leave in such circumstances and that it would work with the government and unions to ensure the new rules worked in practice.
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Faustine Ngila is the AI Editor at Impact Newswire, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an award-winning journalist specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and emerging technologies.
He previously worked as a global technology reporter at Quartz in New York and Digital Frontier in London, where he covered innovation, startups, and the global digital economy.
With years of experience reporting on cutting-edge technologies, Faustine focuses on AI developments, industry trends, and the impact of technology on society.
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