Employment Rights Act 2025

From April 2027, a new statutory Day 1 right to unpaid bereavement leave will be introduced for employees who experience the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.

There is currently no general statutory right to bereavement leave unless an employee’s child dies under the age of 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy whereby statutory parental bereavement leave and pay may apply. Employees taking parental bereavement leave are also protected from detriment and dismissal. However, there is no legal right to take bereavement leave outside of this, for example when a spouse or sibling dies.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 amends the parental bereavement leave rules to turn ‘parental bereavement leave’ into ‘bereavement leave’. This will be a Day 1 right to unpaid bereavement leave for employees who experience the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Employees will be protected from detriment or dismissal for exercising their statutory right to leave.

The details of the right are to be set out in regulations and, following a consultation, we now know the likely scope of the new rules.

Eligibility

Bereavement leave for the loss of loved ones

The following relationships will be eligible for leave for the loss of loved ones:

• immediate family members (biological, adopted, step, and half-relations), including spouses, civil partners and partners in a committed long-term relationship (cohabiting or non-cohabiting), parents, adult children, and siblings
• equivalent parental relationships for employees who were raised in kinship and foster care arrangements are also eligible

Bereavement leave for pregnancy loss

The following relationships will be able to access bereavement leave for pregnancy loss:

• the person who was pregnant
• a spouse, civil partner, the other parent, or partner (who is in a committed long-term relationship) with the person who physically experienced the pregnancy loss
• an intended co-parent
• intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement

All types of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will be included in the entitlement. This includes:

• all types of miscarriage before 24 weeks including molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies and chemical pregnancies (non-exhaustive)
• all terminations
• IVF embryo transfer loss, meaning the unsuccessful outcome of transferring a fertilised embryo into the uterus during IVF treatment (this does not include IVF embryo loss pre-transfer)

When and how bereavement leave can be taken

• Duration of leave: the government will legislate to provide up to two weeks of leave, prorated to the employee’s usual working pattern for all types of bereavement including the death of a loved one and pregnancy loss.
• Date from which leave can be taken: leave can start on the date of knowledge of the death or pregnancy loss, or the date of death or pregnancy loss.
• Flexibility: bereavement leave can be taken discontinuously, in units of one day. Leave can be taken within 56 weeks of the death, or knowledge of the death.

Notice and evidence requirements

Notice should be provided:

• before the employee starts work on the day they intend to take leave, or as soon as is reasonably possible thereafter for the first 8 weeks of bereavement
• one week before the requested date of leave, for leave taken beyond 8 weeks of the bereavement

Any/all forms of notice are acceptable.

Employees should not have to provide evidence of a bereavement to their employer to be able to access leave.