Support our Leave for Every Loss Campaign
Women and their partners who experience a pre-24 week pregnancy loss should have the legal right to take bereavement leave from work. That’s why we’re calling for a vital change in the law.
Our Leave for Every Loss campaign comes in response to overwhelming public support for equitable parental bereavement leave and highlights the emotional, physical, and social toll of pregnancy loss.
A call for action
The Employment Rights Bill, currently progressing through Parliament, paves the way for bereavement leave for a greater range of losses, but does not include pre-24 week pregnancy loss. We want to see the Bill urgently amended to correct this inequality.
We’re asking for your support to back three amendments from Sarah Owen MP to the Employment Rights Bill, to ensure the right to parental bereavement leave from work includes pre-24 week loss. These can be found here:
How can you support us?
Write to your MP
A significant number of MPs are already supporting Sarah Owen MP’s suggested amendments to the Employment Rights Bill; you can track who has supported the amendment so far on the links above. But we need more MP backing to ensure that these crucial amendments are included in the Bill when this is next voted on by Parliament.
Has your MP supported the amendments yet?
If you can email your MP to urge them to vote for the amendments, this would be a huge help in making the right to this bereavement leave a reality.
Find your MP here.
What to say?
When writing to your MP, it’s essential to clearly state that you are one of their constituents and that this issue directly affects their community.
We suggest explaining why this amendment is so important, especially if it has personal relevance to you, your partner, family member, or friend. If you’ve experienced discrimination at work following a miscarriage, sharing how this amendment could have positively impacted your physical and psychological recovery can make a powerful case.
Charity Support
We’re proud to have the backing of fellow charities: Tommy’s, The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, Sands, Antenatal Results and Choices, Aching Arms, the NCT, MISS (Miscarriage Support Scotland), Worst Girl Gang Ever and Pregnant Then Screwed.
Our campaign has also been formally backed by the Co-operative, the Trades Union Congress, and the teachers’ union NASUWT.
Any effort, big or small, to raise the profile of our campaign can make a big difference. Here are some ideas of how you can get involved, and help us achieve Leave for Every Loss:
For our supporters:
- Download some of our social media campaign images to post on your own social media channels, and tag us @miscarriageassociation.
Suggested wording could include:
‘We’re proud to support the Miscarriage Association’s Leave For Every Loss campaign – calling for pre-24-week loss to be included in bereavement leave legislation.
Pre-24 week loss is the only type of loss excluded from bereavement leave laws, leaving all those affected unable to access the same level of support as post-24 week loss.
Every pregnancy loss matters – it’s time to give Leave For Every Loss.
To find out more about the @miscarriageassociation campaign, click here/the link in our bio. (sign post to our press release)
For the media:
- Help us raise awareness by printing our press release, or get in touch with victoria@miscarriageassociation.org.uk for further comment or case studies.
- Consider the images you use alongside your articles carefully. Pictures displaying baby bumps or pregnancy tests can be really triggering, so we advise that you opt for something displaying support and community at a difficult time.
For employers looking to better support their employees:
- Take a look at our workplace hub, and find out how you can support your employees by taking on training, creating a pregnancy loss policy, and signing our Pregnancy Loss Pledge.
- Get in touch to formally back our campaign, by emailing comms@miscarriageassociation.org.uk.
- Lobby your HR department to ensure pre-24 week loss is included in your own bereavement leave policy.
- Encourage other organisations to implement meaningful support for those affected by pregnancy loss.
Thank you to everyone who has already backed our Leave for Every Loss Campaign
If you want to show your support and back our campaign, email comms@miscarriageassociation.org.uk
