Glossary · UK
What is Miscarriage Leave?
Proposed statutory leave for employees who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, extending existing bereavement protections that currently apply only from the 24th week.
Full Definition
Under current UK law, a pregnancy loss after the 24th week of pregnancy is treated as a stillbirth and gives rise to full statutory maternity and paternity leave and pay entitlements in the same way as a live birth, together with the separate right to Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay for the loss of a child. A pregnancy loss before 24 weeks -- a miscarriage in the legal sense -- currently carries no dedicated statutory leave entitlement of its own: an employee may be able to take time off under general sickness absence provisions and Statutory Sick Pay if unfit for work, and some employers offer enhanced compassionate or bereavement leave as a discretionary benefit, but there is no day-one statutory right specific to miscarriage. Reform in this area has been under active discussion: proposals considered as part of the wider Employment Rights Act 2025 reform programme and separate private member's bills would introduce a standalone statutory right to miscarriage leave (commonly proposed at one to two weeks) for the employee and, in some proposals, their partner, recognising the physical and emotional impact of an early pregnancy loss regardless of gestational stage. Because the position was still evolving and had not been brought fully into force as a distinct statutory right as of the 2026/27 tax year, employees experiencing a miscarriage should check their employer's own family leave and compassionate leave policy, and confirm the latest statutory position on gov.uk, rather than assume a fixed universal entitlement.