Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that the UK government is extending statutory bereavement leave entitlements to include early pregnancy endings.
Currently, the statutory entitlement to parental bereavement leave is limited to parents whose child under 18 has died, or who experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. This enables them to take up to two weeks of paid leave. As of April 2027, the entitlement will be extended to “all types of pregnancy loss” that occur before 24 weeks – though in such cases this leave will be unpaid.
