If someone experiences a stillbirth or a miscarriage, their employer should support them.
Time off after a stillbirth
If a child is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, eligible parents are still entitled to maternity or paternity leave. This means:
- the birth mother can get up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave or pay
- the birth father can get up to 2 weeks of paternity leave or pay
- the partner of the birth mother or adopter can get up to 2 weeks of paternity leave or pay
Parents may both be entitled to 2 weeks of parental bereavement leave after they finish their maternity or paternity leave.
The legal name for the time off is 'statutory maternity' and 'statutory paternity' leave. However, someone might not want to call the time off 'maternity' or 'paternity' leave if their baby has died.
Employers should be sensitive to the employee's preference and be led by them when having conversations about leave.
Read more about:
Time off after a miscarriage
If someone's had a miscarriage, they do not have to tell their employer. But it's a good idea to tell them, if they feel able to. The employer can then offer any support that's available, including time off.
If a miscarriage happens in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, there's no entitlement to statutory maternity, paternity or parental bereavement leave.
However, many people would still consider miscarriage a bereavement. An employer should still consider offering time off at what can be an extremely difficult time, both physically and emotionally.
Some employers might offer a period of paid leave specifically for pregnancy loss.
Discussing a miscarriage can be very upsetting. Employers should treat anyone affected by miscarriage with care, in a way that acknowledges their loss. The employer should also support them in the same way they would support someone after a death.
Protection for time off after a miscarriage
If a miscarriage happens in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, any sickness absence the birth mother needs to take is likely to be considered a 'pregnancy-related sickness'.
'Pregnancy and maternity' is a 'protected characteristic' under the Equality Act 2010. If someone is put at a disadvantage and treated unfavourably because of a pregnancy-related sickness or related time off this could be discrimination.
Employers should record pregnancy-related absence separately from other sickness absence. They should not count them towards any review or trigger points in their absence policy.
Find out more about:
Support after a stillbirth or miscarriage
Help and support is available from the following organisations:
- Bliss – support and information for parents after a baby has died
- Miscarriage Association – miscarriage support and advice
- Sands – support for anyone affected by pregnancy loss or baby loss
An employer should talk with the worker to understand what support they need. It will depend on their specific circumstances and needs.
They could support someone's return to work by:
- agreeing to make reasonable adjustments to their working patterns
- allowing a phased return or period of home working
Employers could also consider:
- creating a miscarriage policy that offers paid leave
- including miscarriage in any existing bereavement leave policies – find out more about having a bereavement policy
Contact the Acas helpline
If you have any questions, you can contact the Acas helpline.