World of HR: UK mandates bereavement leave for miscarriage and abortion

The UK is expanding bereavement leave eligibility, the government announced on Sept. 22.

Where in the world? Starting in April 2027, workers in the UK can take up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave for “step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships,” who were not previously covered. Extended family, including aunts and uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews, as well as close friends are not covered, according to the Financial Times.

The new regulation also extends leave to workers and their partners who experience pregnancy loss including miscarriage and abortion; the previous rule only allowed time off for people who lost a child under 18.

Employees will be eligible for leave starting on their first day of work and may space it out over 56 weeks. Companies may not ask workers for evidence of loss and are prohibited from terminating an employee for exercising their right to bereavement leave.

“No one should have to fight for time to grieve,” Kate Dearden, minister for UK’s Future of Work, said. “These changes back people going through some of the hardest moments of life, whoever they are and wherever they work.”

Many family advocate groups, lawyers, and HR leaders praised the decision, calling it long overdue.

“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,” Lucy Peak, chief executive of the nonprofit Kinship, told the BBC.

However, some believe there is still room for improvement, since the leave is unpaid. “Legal recognition without financial support can still force employees to choose between taking time to grieve and maintaining their income,” Richard Harvey, partner at law firm Fisher Phillips, told HR Magazine. “That is where the reform falls short.”

HR leaders advised that employers prepare for the rule by developing procedures and manager guidance, according to the publication. Some employers, like UK retailer Marks and Spencer, already provide four weeks of paid bereavement leave, the Financial Times reported.

The move comes just months after Northern Ireland became the first country in the UK to introduce 20 days of paid bereavement leave, although the legislation has not passed yet.

Zoom out. Bereavement leave is not widely guaranteed for most workers around the world, and just a handful of countries provide miscarriage leave.

In 2021, New Zealand became one of the first countries to provide paid leave for miscarriage or stillbirth. Some countries, including Germany, Belgium, and India, also provide some level of leave for pregnancy loss. The US does not guarantee bereavement leave on a national level, however California and Illinois guarantee unpaid leave for miscarriage.

Time will tell if other countries follow suit.