Bereaved Parents In UK To Get Two Weeks Paid Leave From Work

Parents who lose their child under the age of 18 can take two weeks of statutory paid leave from work, the UK government has announced. The same will be enforced from April 2020 onwards. The parents will have two options. They can take a single block of two weeks or they can also take two separate blocks of one week each across the first year after the death.

Parents who lose their child under the age of 18 can take two weeks of statutory paid leave from work.

According to the ministers, the new law will support 10,000 families every year in the United Kingdom. Moreover, the ministers said that this is the most generous offer on parental bereavement pay and leave in the world.

The regulations will be known as Jack’s Law. The name has been kept in the memory of Jack Herd. His mother has been campaigning on the issue since the 23-month-old drowned in a pond in 2010. She found out the law only allowed Jack’s father three days off work to grieve. Out of that, one of the days had to be for the funeral.

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Lucy Herd said, “In the immediate aftermath of a child dying, parents have to cope with their own loss, the grief of their wider family, including other children, as well as a vast amount of administrative paperwork and other arrangements. A sudden or accidental death may require a postmortem or inquest, there is a funeral to arrange and there are many other organisations to contact, from schools to benefit offices".

Important facts about the new law

• It will be called Jack's law and will be enforced from April onwards.
• It is the most generous offer on parental bereavement pay and leave in the world.
• Parents have two options. They can take a single block of two weeks. They can also take two separate blocks of one week each across the first year after the death.

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 word to do so."

“When I started this campaign 10 years ago after the death of my son Jack, I always hoped that a positive change would happen in his memory. Knowing that nearly 10 years of campaigning has helped create Jack’s Law is the most wonderful feeling, but it is bittersweet at the same time.”

The regulations will be known as Jack’s Law. The name has been kept in the memory of Jack Herd. His mother has been campaigning on the issue since the 23-month-old drowned in a pond in 2010. That time, she found out the law only permitted the dead boy's father three days off work to grieve. Out of that, one of the days had to be for the funeral.

The shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey said, “Labour has supported the proposal for parental bereavement leave from its inception, and we welcome this announcement. As set out in our workers’ rights manifesto, Labour is calling for bereavement leave for those who have lost a close family member.”

Pic credit: Gailbraith Family Law

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