A change in the law is needed to give workers the right to paid time off after a miscarriage, representatives at the Annual Conference of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union have argued today.

Currently workers experiencing miscarriage before the end of their 24th week of pregnancy are not statutorily entitled to maternity leave or pay, any pay or time off is at discretion of their employer. 

Teachers at the conference in Harrogate have called for miscarriage to be included within statutory maternity, paternity and parental bereavements rights so that workers experiencing the trauma of miscarriage have the right to paid time off. 

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:

“Miscarriage comes with huge emotional, and often physical, implications. Estimates vary, but around one in five pregnancies in the UK is thought to end in miscarriage, meaning tens of thousands of workers are affected each year. 

“Yet presently members experiencing miscarriage have to rely on the sensitivity and goodwill of their employer if they need time off after experiencing a miscarriage. 

“As a country we quite rightly recognise the need for paid maternity and paternity rights, but there is no equivalent right for miscarriage. 

“Members experiencing miscarriage should not have their grief compounded by having to go cap in hand to their employer or worrying about whether they can afford time off. In a compassionate society, paid miscarriage leave should be a statutory right for workers in all sectors.”