- City MP welcomes government announcement that every worker will have legal right to bereavement leave following death of an immediate family member or pregnancy loss
- From April 2027, employees who have lost a spouse, partner, adult child or sibling will be entitled to two weeks bereavement leave
- New measures will also bring stronger protections for women and their partners who experience pregnancy loss, extending Parental Bereavement Leave to pregnancy loss, including miscarriages, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers before 24 weeks
- Government is taking action and delivering fundamental change to give working people security and space they need to process the loss of family members
- Changes are part of Labour’s plan to Make Work Pay, strengthening rights at work and giving families breathing room during difficult times
- City MP said this is an important step in ensuring local residents have time and space to grieve, after raising challenges faced by Portsmouth families
Stephen Morgan, the local Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South, has welcomed the Government’s introduction of new measures to give employees in Portsmouth the right to bereavement leave, delivering greater security and fairness at work.
People who lose a loved one or experience the heartbreak of pregnancy loss, will gain new rights to take time off work under major changes confirmed by the Government.
After hearing from local residents who were worried about their rights at work following the loss of a family member, Stephen Morgan MP has been advocating for changes to ensure no employee will worry about whether they can take time off work to grieve.
After years of inconsistency and confusion about protections they might be entitled to, grieving employees in Portsmouth will no longer have to fight for time to recover from loss.
Kate Dearden, the Minister of State for the Future of Work, will introduce a new legal right to bereavement leave, from April 2027, for employees who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling.
The Minister will also introduce measures to expand Parental Bereavement Leave to women and their partners, including intended parents in surrogacy arrangements, who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks – including miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers – will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave.
This gives people the necessary time and security to grieve during one of the hardest moments in their lives. This announcement will also bring the UK’s laws into the 21st century as it will also include step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships who currently have no legal right to bereavement leave.
These fundamental changes fill a vital gap in employment law that mean employees are only able to take bereavement leave at employer discretion, recognising that every family deserves the time and space to mourn the people they love, and that Parental Bereavement Leave must be extended to those who are currently excluded.
This leave can be taken flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss, including as single days, enabling workers to grieve in the way that works for them. No one will be asked or required to provide evidence of their loss, helping to protect employees’ privacy and dignity at a deeply distressing time.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Behind every loss is a family that deserves time to heal, time to grieve shouldn’t depend on where you work. I am grateful that our Labour Government is delivering a new legal right to bereavement leave for all employees.
“These changes will deliver real security and breathing room for families in Portsmouth, giving them the right to grieve loss in the way that works for them.
Minister of State 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.
“I want to thank the campaigners, whose courage and testimonies, have made this change happen.”
Pregnancy loss changes build on the existing right to Parental Bereavement Leave for parents who experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy or the death of a child under 18.
The Government is currently undertaking a wider, comprehensive review of the parental leave and pay system including on areas such as ‘Hugh’s Law’ and the rights of parents with terminally ill children.
