If you are the birth mother, your baby died either before or during birth, and your baby was at least at 24 weeks of pregnancy, this is considered a stillbirth in law and you are entitled to the same leave as mothers in your position whose babies are born alive. This could include Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or income-related benefits from the State. The same entitlements apply if your baby was born alive and then died, even if your baby was born before 24 weeks gestation.
If you are self-employed, you are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. Depending on how long you have been self-employed and your National Insurance contributions, you may be entitled to Maternity Allowance.
If you are a partner, or a co-mother, you are entitled to one or two weeks of parental or paternity leave. Couples can also take Shared Parental Leave as long as notice to take the leave was given before the baby died.
If your baby died before birth and was under 24 weeks, this is considered a late miscarriage. Unfortunately you are not entitled to maternity leave or maternity allowance.
Birth mothers who have early or late miscarriages may be entitled to sick leave as long as their GP can provide a note to this effect. It is good practice for your employer to record sickness following miscarriage separately from other Sick Leave so that it does not count towards your sickness record. Long-term sickness could form part of your sickness record. Compassionate leave may be granted for bereaved parents but this will be at the discretion of the employer.
The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Act will come into effect in 2020. It is expected to require employers to offer an additional two weeks of paid leave to anyone who experiences the death of a child under the age of 18. This entitlement does not depend on the length of service. Parents of babies who are stillborn will also be entitled to this leave. It is envisaged that the leave will need to be taken within 56 days of the bereavement, although it does not have to be taken as block leave. Parental Bereavement leave is independent of maternity leave.