UK company gives employees 10 day's leave for pregnancy loss

Pregnancy loss is heartbreakingly common – yet just a handful of companies give employees paid leave when either they, or their partner, loses a baby in the first few months.

However, a leading London law firm has announced it will begin to give staff time off if they have been affected.

Kingsley Napley will offer ten days’ paid leave for those who have experienced a miscarriage or abortion – or if their partner has.

This time off, which employers currently have no obligation to provide before 24 weeks, will be in addition to related medical appointments.

Read more: 12 celebrities who have opened up about miscarriage and stillbirth

They are thought to be the first company in the legal sector to make the move, however Channel 4 and Monzo have previously announced their own policies.

Watch:Call for more support over miscarriage

Speaking to The Sunday Times, managing partner Linda Woolley said they hoped it would “validate the experiences” of staff impacted.

Currently, employees can legally take planned parental leave if they lose their baby after 24 weeks – when it is considered a stillbirth.

However, the majority of pregnancy losses occur in the first three months, when it is called a miscarriage.

Read more: New Zealand introduced bereavement leave for miscarriages – should the UK follow suit?

According to the charity Tommy's, one in four pregnancies ends in loss during pregnancy or birth.

Similarly, one in four women have experienced a miscarriage, and one in a hundred experience recurrent miscarriages.

The law firm's announcement comes after New Zealand announced bereavement leave for miscarriages back in March.

Under legislation passed by the country's parliament, women and their partners will be eligible for three days’ off.

Watch: It's Time to Normalise What Happens to the Body After a Miscarriage