Parents' bereavement leave right to begin in April

Parents who suffer the loss of a child will be entitled to two weeks' paid bereavement leave under new legislation coming into force in April.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom announced the operative date for the new right under the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018. The Act is known as Jack's Law, in memory of Jack Herd, whose mother Lucy has been campaigning for reform since he drowned aged 23 months in 2010. Jack's father's employers allowed him just three days' leave at the time.

Under the Act, parents who lose a child under the age of 18 will be able to take either a single block of two weeks' leave, or two separate weeks within the first year after the death. The right can be claimed after 26 weeks' employment.

Ms Leadsom described the law as "a minimum, and something to build on".

"In many cases, businesses are incredibly sympathetic and very supportive of parents who have been bereaved, but what we are saying is, this is the statutory minimum and we would hope and encourage them to offer more than that", she said.