The newly re-formed Business and Trade Committee’s first call for evidence was on the Government’s new flagship employment rights bill. They launched this inquiry with a view to informing the later stages of the Bill’s passage through Parliament, to help assess whether it will achieve its aims. They have recently published written evidence submitted to this inquiry by a team including Prof Julie Davies, which focussed on the need for this legislation to include bereavement leave for early pregnancy endings.
The submission from the team of Professor Jo Brewis, The Open University, Professor Ilaria Boncori, University of Essex, Professor Julie Davies, Brunel University, and Dr. Aimee Middlemiss, University of Plymouth made the key recommendation to extend entitlement to bereavement leave to those who experience early pregnancy endings (before 24 weeks’ gestation) without a live birth.
The existing legislation provides a bereavement leave entitlement only for pregnancies of 24 weeks’ gestation and beyond which end without a live birth, which it defines as stillbirths. Based on their recent studies into the experience of early pregnancy endings, they argue for a redefinition of bereavement leave to encompass ‘early’ pregnancy endings – i.e., miscarriages, abortions, ectopic pregnancies and molar pregnancies before the period of stillbirth (24 weeks gestation).
The full written evidence submission can be accessed here.
The evidence was submitted as a response to the Business and Trade Committee’s Inquiry on Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill in December 2024.