Parents who lose child to be given two weeks’ paid leave

BEREAVED parents are to receive two weeks’ paid leave under a new law that follows a campaign by a mother whose toddler drowned in a garden pond.

From April, parents who lose a child under the age of 18 will be entitled to the time off from work to allow them to grieve and make funeral arrangements.

The law change follows a campaign by Lucy Herd, whose son Jack died when he fell into a garden pond in August 2010.

Ms Herd started Jack’s Rainbow, a campaign that called on the government to give bereaved parents four weeks’ paid leave. The new regulations will be laid in parliament today.

Andrea Leadsom, the Business Secretary, named the legislation “Jack’s Law” and said it was a “fitting testament” to Ms Herd’s campaign.

Parents will be allowed to take their leave in one block after the death of their child or split it up to make funeral arrangements. Although the allowance is only half the amount Ms Herd campaigned for, the government said it was “the most generous offer on parental bereavement pay and leave in the world”. Ms Herd said the law change was “the most wonderful feeling”.

“In the immediate aftermath of a child dying, parents have to cope with their own loss, the grief of their wider family, including other children, as well as a vast amount of administrative paperwork and other arrangements,” she said.

Around 7,500 child deaths, including around 3,000 stillbirths, occur in the UK every year. Government estimates suggest that 10,000 parents each year could benefit from the policy.

Ms Leadsom said: “There can be few worse experiences in life than the loss of a child and I am proud that this government is delivering ‘Jack’s Law’, making us the first country in the word to do so.”