On 22 September 2026 the government confirmed two new day-one employment rights that start in April 2027: a right to bereavement leave for employees who lose a close family member, and a right to pregnancy loss leave of up to two weeks for losses before 24 weeks. Both are unpaid, and both apply from an employee's first day.
If you run payroll or manage staff, this is a change you need on your radar now, not in 2027. It sits inside the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will be filled in by secondary legislation over the coming months. This guide explains who is covered, how the new leave differs from the parental bereavement leave you may already know, whether any of it is paid, and the practical steps to take before it commences. For the wider picture on statutory absence, our guide to statutory pay for small businesses is a useful companion.
What are the new bereavement leave rights?
The new bereavement leave is a day-one right for employees who lose a spouse or partner, a parent, an adult child or a sibling. It can be taken flexibly within 56 weeks of the loss, including as single days rather than one block, and employees are protected from detriment or dismissal for taking it. It commences in April 2027.
According to the government's announcement of 22 September 2026, the right will extend to step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships, not only birth relatives. There is no minimum length of service, so a new starter has the same entitlement as someone with 20 years' service.
Two practical features matter for managers. First, for leave taken within the first eight weeks after a bereavement, an employee only needs to notify you as soon as is reasonably practicable, not in advance. Second, they do not need to provide evidence of the loss. The Employment Rights Act 2025 sets bereavement leave as a minimum entitlement, expected to be at least one week, with the precise length confirmed in secondary legislation before the April 2027 start.
What is the new pregnancy loss leave entitlement?
Employees and their partners who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave as a day-one right from April 2027. This covers miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful embryo transfers during IVF treatment, and it is the first time this specific protection has existed in Great Britain.
This closes a long-standing gap. Until now, statutory parental bereavement leave only applied to a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy or the death of a child under 18. Losses before 24 weeks fell outside the statutory framework entirely, leaving employees reliant on an employer's goodwill or sick leave. The new right applies to women, their partners, the other biological parent, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
How do the new rights differ from existing parental bereavement leave?
The existing scheme, Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (often called Jack's Law), continues unchanged and is the only one of the three that carries a statutory payment. The two new rights sit alongside it. This is the comparison to keep in front of your payroll and HR teams:
| Entitlement | Who it covers | Length | Paid? | In force |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave (Jack's Law) | Death of a child under 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks | 2 weeks | Yes, if eligible (statutory rate) | Already in force |
| New bereavement leave | Loss of a spouse/partner, parent, adult child or sibling (plus step, adoptive, kinship, foster) | At least one week (to be confirmed) | Expected unpaid | April 2027 |
| New pregnancy loss leave | Pregnancy loss before 24 weeks (miscarriage, termination, unsuccessful IVF) | Up to 2 weeks | Unpaid | April 2027 |
All three are day-one rights, so length of service is never a barrier. The key operational difference is pay: only Jack's Law triggers a statutory payment you can partly recover from HMRC.
Is bereavement leave paid or unpaid?
The two new rights are expected to be unpaid. Only the existing Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay carries a statutory payment, currently £194.32 per week (2026/27) or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, per HMRC's employer guidance.
To qualify for that pay, the employee needs at least 26 weeks' continuous service and average weekly earnings of at least £125. Many employers choose to enhance the new unpaid rights with full or partial pay as a retention and wellbeing measure, but there is no legal duty to do so unless you write one into a contract or policy. If you are drafting or updating terms, our employment agreement service can make sure the wording is clean.
How much can employers reclaim from HMRC?
You can reclaim 92% of Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay from HMRC, rising to 109% if you qualify for Small Employers' Relief. You qualify if you paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance (before reliefs such as the Employment Allowance) in the last complete tax year, per the gov.uk statutory payment recovery rules. You recover it by submitting an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) as part of your PAYE reporting.
Remember this recovery applies only to the existing paid parental bereavement scheme. The new bereavement and pregnancy loss leave, being unpaid, generate no statutory payment and therefore nothing to reclaim, though you still carry the administrative cost of covering the absence.
Worked example: reclaiming parental bereavement pay
Illustrative example. A small landscaping company pays an eligible employee two weeks of Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay at the 2026/27 rate.
- Weekly rate: £194.32
- Two weeks paid: £194.32 × 2 = £388.64
- Standard recovery at 92%: £388.64 × 0.92 = £357.55
- With Small Employers' Relief at 109%: £388.64 × 1.09 = £423.62
So a small employer eligible for the relief recovers £423.62 against a £388.64 outlay, the extra 9% being compensation for the administrative burden. A larger employer recovers £357.55 and bears the £31.09 balance. The maths only ever applies to the paid scheme, which is why classifying each type of leave correctly in payroll matters.
When do the new rights come into force?
Both the new bereavement leave and the pregnancy loss leave commence in April 2027. They were introduced through the Employment Rights Act 2025, and the detail, including the exact number of days and the notice and evidence rules, is being set out in secondary legislation following the government's consultation response published in September 2026.
That gives employers a defined runway. The sensible approach is to treat spring 2027 as a hard deadline and use the intervening period to update policies, payroll categories and manager training, rather than scrambling once the regulations land.
What do UK employers need to do now?
You do not need to change anything today, but you should start preparing. Work through this checklist over the next few months:
- Update your leave policy. Add distinct entries for bereavement leave and pregnancy loss leave, separate from compassionate leave and sick leave, and decide whether you will enhance them with pay.
- Set up payroll codes. Create clear absence categories so unpaid statutory leave is not accidentally processed as sick pay or holiday. See our guide to running payroll for how to structure this.
- Brief line managers. The rights are day-one and need no evidence, so managers must respond with sensitivity and without demanding proof or notice.
- Review contracts. Check that offer letters and staff handbooks will reference the new statutory minimums, especially if you plan to hire before April 2027. Our note on hiring your first employee covers the wider onboarding picture.
- Diarise the regulations. Watch for the secondary legislation that confirms the precise length and process, then finalise your policy wording.
Getting the payroll treatment right is the part employers most often trip over. If you would rather not manage statutory leave and its reclaims in-house, our payroll service handles the coding, reporting and HMRC recovery for you, and keeps you compliant as the new rights take effect.
Want your payroll ready for April 2027?
We help UK employers set up compliant leave policies and payroll processes, and recover every penny they are due from HMRC. Book a free call with Zmartly and we will map out exactly what you need to change.
Frequently asked questions
When do the new bereavement leave rights start?
Both the new bereavement leave and the pregnancy loss leave start in April 2027. They were introduced through the Employment Rights Act 2025, with the detailed rules set out in secondary legislation following the government's consultation response in September 2026.
Is the new bereavement leave paid?
The new bereavement leave and pregnancy loss leave are expected to be unpaid. Only the existing Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay carries a statutory payment, currently £194.32 per week for 2026/27 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for eligible employees.
Who qualifies for the new bereavement leave?
It is a day-one right, so there is no minimum service. It covers employees who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling, including step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships. The pregnancy loss leave covers losses before 24 weeks for women, their partners and intended parents.
How much can employers reclaim from HMRC?
Employers can reclaim 92% of Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, or 109% under Small Employers' Relief if they paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance in the last complete tax year. The new unpaid rights generate no statutory payment, so there is nothing to reclaim on those.
