UK set to introduce ‘Jack’s Law’ – new legal right to paid parental bereavement leave
UK set to introduce ‘Jack’s Law’ – new legal right to paid parentalbereavement leave
A new law which gives working paarents who suffer the loss of a child, the statutory right to two weeks leave is set to come into force.
The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations, which will be known as Jack’s Law in memory of Jack Herd whose mother Lucy campaigned on the issue.
The law will implement a statutory right to a minimum of 2 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. It comes into force on April 6th 2020.
The new Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act, that will ensure all bereaved parents will have a right to at least 2 weeks’ paid leave from work in addition to their existing parental leave entitlement.
Parents will be able to take the leave as either a single block of 2 weeks, or as 2 separate blocks of one week each taken at different times across the first year after their child’s death. This means they can match their leave to the times they need it most, which could be in the early days or over the first anniversary.
Around 7,500 child deaths, including around 3,000 stillbirths, occur in the UK every year. The government estimates that this new entitlement will help to support around 10,000 parents a year.
The right to parental bereavement leave and pay makes the UK one of a very few countries worldwide to offer such support, and the first to offer a full 2 weeks.
The Graham Agency, working with you.