From 6 April 2026, Northern Ireland became the first part of the UK to provide a specific statutory entitlement to paid miscarriage leave. The new regulations give eligible workers up to two weeks’ paid leave following a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy, including for partners, and the entitlement is available from day one of employment.
This is a significant development. Until now, support for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks has largely depended on employer discretion, sickness absence rules, or ad hoc compassionate leave arrangements. Northern Ireland’s new regime plugs that gap by treating miscarriage as a bereavement event deserving formal workplace protection.
The new miscarriage leave regime is a powerful signal that Northern Ireland is now helping to lead the conversation on how employment law should recognise and respond to women’s rights, health and baby loss in the context of the workplace.
What the NI rules do
The Northern Ireland regulations extend statutory parental bereavement leave and pay to miscarriage, not just stillbirth or the death of a child. The leave can be taken as one two-week block or split into two separate weeks within 56 weeks of the miscarriage, and the rules require only a declaration rather than medical evidence.
The policy also removes the 26-week service requirement for parental bereavement pay, making the pay element a day-one right for eligible workers. The aim is to provide practical support at a distressing time without forcing parents to produce sensitive medical documentation.
How Great Britain differs
Currently, England, Wales and Scotland do not have a standalone statutory right to paid miscarriage leave.
The statutory parental bereavement framework applies to stillbirth after 24 weeks and the death of a child under 18, while earlier pregnancy loss has generally been left to sickness absence, contractual leave, or compassionate leave policies.
The legal position here is still materially narrower than in Northern Ireland.
In practice
Many employers have already chosen to support staff more generously, but that support is not yet a universal statutory entitlement.
Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, it is anticipated that a right to miscarriage leave will be introduced in 2027 and will be unpaid. We await consultation outcomes and detailed regulations to see how it will be implemented.
Practical impact for employers
For employers, the message is straightforward: Northern Ireland is now ahead of the rest of the UK, and any UK-wide policy will need to account for that difference. Policies should be checked for consistency across regions, particularly where maternity, sickness absence, compassionate leave and bereavement leave intersect.
It would also be sensible to train managers on how to handle pregnancy loss sensitively, because the legal right is only part of the picture. A clear, compassionate policy often matters just as much as the entitlement itself.