The government is set to implement legislation that will give parents the right to two weeks' paid bereavement leave, in the devastating instance that they lose a child.
The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations will be known as 'Jack's Law', in memory of Jack Herd, who died in 2010 at 23 months of age. Jack's mother Lucy campaigned for the parental bereavement provision to become law.
The new legislation, due to take effect from April 2020, will implement a statutory right to a minimum of two weeks' leave for all employed parents if they lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy, irrespective of how long they have worked for their employer.
According to the government, the entitlement to two weeks' paid bereavement leave is the longest period available worldwide.
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said, "There can be few worse experiences in life than the loss of a child and I am proud that this government is delivering 'Jack's Law', making us the first country in the world to do so."
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay will be administered by employers in the same way as existing family-related statutory payments such as Statutory Paternity Pay.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service provides guidance on bereavement leave and the law as it currently stands at https://www.acas.org.uk/absence-from-work/time-off-for-bereavement
Please contact Emma-Louise Hewitt on 0808 166 8860 or email e.hewitt@sydneymitchell.co.uk.
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