statutory paid miscarriage leave

4 May 2021

Until I had a miscarriage I had no idea that 1 in 4 women experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks. That is a staggering number. And in fact, it may even be more than that because of the taboo surrounding this subject.

I recently read a blog by workingmums that a petition has been launched calling for statutory paid miscarriage leave for women who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks.

I fully support this. I was devastated at the loss of my pregnancy at 10 weeks. Some people tell you, “it just like having a heavy period”. I can tell you it isn’t. It is nothing like that.

At the moment, if you have a miscarriage, you are only entitled to sick pay. And if you do not have contractual sick pay, you will only receive Statutory Sick Pay (‘SSP’) which is currently £96.35 per week.

New Zealand have recently introduced law that anyone who miscarries is entitled to three days paid miscarriage leave.

The UK government, through the petition, is investigating how much paid leave would be appropriate, and is looking to introduce a miscarriage leave policy whereby any woman who miscarries would be able to take paid time off, if she feels she needs it. It is not surprise that I will be signing the petition and will be waiting to see what the outcome is.

This blog was written by Joanne Sinclair, Trainee, didlaw.

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