Employment Rights Bill: bereavement leave 

Please be aware that this article and the Government consultation include discussion of pregnancy loss. 

On 23 October 2025, the Government issued several new consultations on measures being introduced under the Employment Rights Bill, which is expected to be granted Royal Assent shortly. 

One of the new consultations is on the extension of statutory bereavement leave to apply to those who have lost a ‘loved one’ and to include pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Currently, statutory (paid) bereavement leave in the UK is limited to parents who lose a child under 18 or experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks. Other forms of bereavement, including early pregnancy loss, are not covered by the current statutory scheme meaning that entitlement to take leave (other than as emergency time off for dependants or sick leave) depends on an employer’s own policies. 

The Employment Rights Bill (clause 18) introduces a new day-one right for employees to take a minimum of one week’s unpaid bereavement leave for employees, within at least 56 days of the bereavement. Details of the new entitlement will be set out in secondary legislation following this latest consultation. 

Key areas for consideration 

• Eligibility: the Government seeks views on who should qualify for bereavement leave (e.g. immediate, extended or “chosen” family?). It also seeks views on pregnancy loss eligibility and whether this should extend to partners and co-parents as well as the individual who has physically experienced the loss. 

• Types of pregnancy loss: the consultation sets out the different forms of pregnancy loss that might be in scope of the entitlement, including spontaneous miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancies, medical terminations and IVF embryo transfer loss. 

• Timing and duration of leave: the Government seeks views on: the duration of leave (the minimum being one week); whether the duration should be different for different forms of bereavement; whether leave should be taken in one block or flexibly (e.g. single days or weeks); the proposed start date of the entitlement, and the period in which the leave should be taken (options for consideration include 56 days, 52 weeks, or 56 weeks) 

• Notice and evidence: the Government is considering notice requirements, which is likely to include same-day notice for immediate leave and longer notice for delayed leave. The consultation also includes questions about the form notice should take and evidential requirements (if any). 

The Government is also seeking views on any other steps that could be taken to help employers to effectively implement the new statutory bereavement leave and to support their employees, such as guidance. 

The consultation closes on 15 January 2026. Once the Government has considered the responses, draft regulations will be published setting out their preferred approach. The new right to take bereavement leave is not expected to come into effect until some point in 2027. 

As the consultation makes it clear, the Government’s intention is that this new right “will represent a floor – not a ceiling” and the expectation is that many employers will go beyond the statutory minimum entitlement.