Under measures announced by the Government today, all parents in full-time and part-time employment would be entitled to two weeks' bereavement leave should they lose a child under the age of 18.

Should the Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill, introduced by Kevin Hollinrake MP and supported by the Government, be approved, it will give a day-one right to parental bereavement leave.

Employees with a minimum of 26 weeks’ continuous service will also be eligible to receive 2 weeks statutory parental bereavement pay.

Such proposals will not, however, apply to self-employed workers.

It is expected that small employers will be able to recover all statutory parental bereavement pay from the Government whilst larger employers will be able to reclaim almost all of it.

Details of the proposed new law were published in Parliament ahead of the bill's second reading on 20 October 2017, with the intention that it will become law by 2020.

Whilst we await the development of this Bill over the coming months, if you have any questions or queries, please get in touch with a member of our Employment Law team.