Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill receives Royal Assent

Employment / 20 September 2018

A new workplace right to paid leave for bereaved parents is expected to come into force in 2020.

ISSUE

The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill (the “Bill”) has received Royal Assent becoming the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 (the “Act”).

KEY DATES

The Bill received Royal Assent on 13 September 2018 and the Act is likely to come into force in 2020.

IMPACT

The Act will give all employed parents a day-one statutory right to two weeks’ leave if they lose a child under the age of 18, or if they suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy.

If they meet the relevant eligibility criteria (which are similar to the eligibility criteria for statutory paternity pay), employed parents will also be able to claim statutory parental bereavement pay for this period.

ACTION

The final version of the Act is likely to be published after regulations have been laid down setting out how parental bereavement leave will be taken in practice.

There is no specific action to be taken at present, but we will keep you updated with further progress.