‘Time to grieve’: Paid bereavement leave should cover miscarriage, MPs say

Published

2 months ago

January 15, 2025

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Women and their partners should be given paid time off work if they experience a miscarriage, MPs have said.

As of April 2020, employees can be eligible for statutory parental bereavement leave, including pay, if they have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, but there is no specific leave for a pre-24 week miscarriage.

The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) is recommending the two-week leave period should now be made available to women who experience a miscarriage, and their partners who support them.

An estimated one in five pregnancies end before 24 weeks, with as many as 20% ending in the first 12 weeks, known as early miscarriage.

The cross-party group of MPs acknowledged that while a “growing number of employers have specific pregnancy loss leave and pay policies” there remains a “very substantial” gap in support.

And while the introduction of baby loss certificates was welcome it “does not go far enough and it should be backed up by statutory support”.

Many women are forced to take sick leave, which the committee says is an “inappropriate and inadequate” form of employer support as it does not afford women adequate confidentiality or dignity and puts them at high risk of employment discrimination.

Charlotte Butterworth-Pool, 34, has suffered two pregnancy losses before 24 weeks.

She didn’t tell her employer about the first – as she “just so happened to have the week off” – but her devastation after the second meant she spoke to her workplace.

“I took a week off sick and had to spend the full week in bed,” she tells Sky News. “But then I had to go back to work, and everyone knew I was expecting a baby, which was upsetting. That was quite difficult to manage.”

Ms Butterworth-Pool says she “probably would have taken longer [off]” if a statutory policy had been in place.

The committee intends to put forward amendments to the government’s Employment Rights Bill, in the name of WEC’s Chair, Labour MP Sarah Owen.

This recommendations would cover anyone who experiences miscarriages, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, in vitro fertilisation embryo transfer loss, or who has a termination for medical reasons.

“I was not prepared for the shock of miscarrying at work during my first pregnancy,” Ms Owen said.

“Like many women, I legally had to take sick leave. But I was grief stricken, not sick, harbouring a deep sense of loss.”
She added that the case for a minimum standard in law is “overwhelming”.

“A period of paid leave should be available to all women and partners who experience a pre-24-week pregnancy loss. It’s time to include bereavement leave for workers who miscarry in new employment rights laws.”

‘We need more compassion for mums and their loss’

A number of women have backed the committee’s proposal, including Leila Green, 41, who says “people just didn’t understand why I couldn’t just get on with it” after she suffered a pregnancy loss.

Ms Green, who went on to have triplets, even found it hard to explain her feelings to her husband.

“He didn’t know that baby, that baby was a stranger to him,” she says. “But the baby shared my blood, I knew that baby. I had all these wonderful ideas of what I would do with this wonderful child that got snatched away so suddenly.”

She now supports women with her organisation F**k Mum Guilt and adds: “We need more compassion for mums and their loss. You cannot expect us to act like robots.

“If we go on like nothing has happened, it’s like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.”

Tess Woodward, 35, has experienced six pregnancy losses and felt like “the rug had been pulled out from under us” after the first in 2020.

“Physically I had to take some time off work for the surgery, and then to recover from it,” she says. “Emotionally, it was very difficult to deal with.”

Ms Woodward’s employer offered her all the support she needed but prior to this, she admits she had been worried.

The fact she was supported “removed some of the extra worry that could have been there,” she adds.

A spokesperson from the Department for Business and Trade said: “Losing a child at any stage is incredibly difficult and we know many employers will show compassion and understanding in these circumstances.

“Our Employment Rights Bill will establish a new right to bereavement leave, make paternity and parental leave a day one right, and strengthen protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work.”

UK

Mother of girl operated on 17 times by now-suspended surgeon fears she may never walk again

Published

6 hours ago

March 28, 2025

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Mother of girl operated on 17 times by now-suspended surgeon fears she may never walk again

The mother of a young girl operated on 17 times by a now-suspended surgeon has told Sky News she’s “angry and so upset” and fears her daughter may never walk again.

Her child is only eight years old and now needs further surgery, including a hip replacement.

She was one of nine patients whose treatment fell below the expected standard at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

The Department of Health told Sky News the situation is “incredibly concerning”.

The little girl’s case was uncovered following an external review into the specialist paediatric surgeon who has since been suspended.

The child was born with hip dysplasia, a condition affecting the hip socket, which can usually be fixed. But issues with her operations have left her using a wheelchair and crutches.

Her mother, who’s asked not to be named, said: “It’s like a big limp. She is not stable and can’t balance on that leg, so she always has to have an aide with her because she would fall over and hurt herself.”

Notes given to the family list a catalogue of serious issues involving the surgeon’s treatment, including “problems with both judgement and technique”.

Cambridge University Hospitals Trust is now reviewing 800 patients treated by the same surgeon.

Of these, 700 are children who underwent planned orthopaedic surgery. Another 100 are patients who received emergency trauma surgery.

What’s troubling the family now is that concerns were first raised about the surgeon a decade ago.

The mother said: “My daughter wasn’t born until 2016, so had the trust acted on this correctly, my daughter probably would never have seen that consultant and she would have probably been fine.”

An independent external investigation team is assessing whether issues could have been addressed earlier.

Sky News has spoken to several clinicians working at Addenbrooke’s. One is so concerned that they’ve contacted Health Secretary Wes Streeting, claiming the damage caused was “all avoidable” and that “many lives have been ruined”.

‘The pain was all the time’

Tammy Harrison is 12 years old and has cerebral palsy. She was also operated on by the now-suspended surgeon.

There’s no evidence of any wrongdoing yet, but one of her operations didn’t work and left her in agonising pain.

“It felt like I was being stabbed. The pain was all the time, I couldn’t move and I couldn’t even get out of bed,” Tammy said.

She’s now unable to sit on the floor, and her legs are different lengths.

Her mum, Lynn, said she became worried about her care shortly after the operation.

She said: “The pain level wasn’t deteriorating. It just seemed like she was getting worse. And at the six-week review, I asked, why is she still in so much pain? And it was just brushed underneath her carpet.”

Cambridge University Hospitals say they’re deeply sorry and will do everything they can to support families and patients.

Lawyers representing one of the families say the numbers potentially impacted are “staggering”.

Medical negligence solicitor at Osborne Law, Jodi Newton, said: “It’s clearly shocking in terms of the types of patients involved, in that most of those are children, and numbers – what we don’t know is whether there is going to be more patients than those already identified. It could be in its thousands.”

Families are now anxiously waiting for answers and the truth about their children’s treatment.

‘I wish I had spoken up more’

Lynn Harrison said: “I’m glad it’s come to light, and I wasn’t being an overprotective mum.

“But I am angry. I wish I had spoken up more and pushed further because other patients might not have had to suffer.”

UK

King cancels engagements after ‘temporary side effects’ from cancer treatment

Published

15 hours ago

March 28, 2025

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King cancels engagements after 'temporary side effects' from cancer treatment

The King has cancelled engagements on Friday due to “temporary side effects” from his cancer treatment.

Buckingham Palace said after “scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer” on Thursday morning, the King “experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital”.

“His Majesty’s afternoon engagements were therefore postponed,” the statement added.

The palace said the 76-year-old was now back at Clarence House but “as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow’s diary programme will also be rescheduled”.

“His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” the palace said.

Sky’s royal correspondent Laura Bundock said we are being “advised this isn’t a major problem in terms of his ongoing recovery”. A source also described it as a “most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction”.

Announcement shows incident of some concern

This news was unexpected, even though we’ve known the King is still undergoing treatment for his cancer.

It is also unusual for the King to cancel engagements, especially this day in Birmingham which will have been meticulously planned.

That said, the palace is keen to stress he should be back to work as normal next week, and there’s no sense this will have any effect on the upcoming state visit to Italy.

The King enjoys his work and won’t be happy letting people down. Some have said his work is what has helped keep him going through his diagnosis.

Aides say this is a “bump in the road” and that overall the King’s progress is heading in the right direction.

But the fact they decided to make this announcement shows it was of some concern.

It is also a reminder he remains a cancer patient, and with that, facing all the uncertainty and unpredictability the disease can present.

The King revealed in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatment.

He returned to public duties in April last year and sources suggested in December his treatment would continue in 2025 and was “moving in a positive direction”.

Following the side effects on Thursday, the King had to postpone audiences with ambassadors in the afternoon and was due to visit Birmingham on Friday.

The palace said he was “greatly disappointed” to have to miss the trip but it hopes it can be rescheduled.

The King and Queen are also set for a state visit to Italy in just over a week’s time.

On Wednesday, the King had a typically busy day of activities. He was at London’s Somerset House, where he unveiled a plaque, before hosting a reception at Buckingham Palace in the evening.

Last week, the royals also made a three-day visit to Northern Ireland.

Royal commentator Alastair Bruce told Sky News the King was on good form earlier this week.

“Literally two days ago I was standing in front of him when he invested me with some insignia that I received in the New Year’s Honours and I had a fantastic conversation with him,” he said.

“He was standing there for about an hour and a half, handing out honours and awards. He is maintaining as best he can all the challenges and tasks his role requires.”

UK

‘Child poverty will increase for first time under Labour and it’s paving way for Reform’, Corbyn warns Starmer

Published

18 hours ago

March 27, 2025

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'Child poverty will increase for first time under Labour and it's paving way for Reform', Corbyn warns Starmer

Child poverty is set to increase under a Labour government for the first time in history and an “alternative path” is needed to stop the rise of Reform UK, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned.

A joint statement signed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other cross-party MPs calls for a wealth tax on those with assets over £10m “so we can rebuild our schools and hospitals”.

Politics Live: Protesters interrupt minister’s speech

The letter, in response to Rachel Reeves’s spring statement, says the chancellor has made a “choice” to push more disabled people and children into poverty by announcing departmental spending cuts while increasing money invested into defence.

“This isn’t about scarcity, it’s about priorities”, it said, adding: “This is set to be the first Labour government in history under which child poverty increases.

“Labour’s failure has paved the way for Reform. We need an alternative path.

“Parroting the rhetoric of Reform UK on migrants, minorities and Muslims just endorses their scapegoating and makes society worse for us all.”

As well as Mr Corbyn, who is now an independent MP, the statement was signed by suspended Labour MPs Sarah Zultana and Apsana Begum, Green MPs, independents and other figures calling for “progressive politics”.

It comes ahead of the launch of Reform UK’s local election campaign on Friday, with the party hoping to make gains in May after overtaking Labour in multiple polls.

The letter describes the “alternative path” as one where the richest in society and multinational companies face higher taxes, rent controls are brought in, water and energy are nationalised and money is invested “in welfare, not warfare”.

These measures have previously been ruled out by Ms Reeves, but she is coming under pressure following her spring statement on Wednesday.

Spring statement takeaways

The economic update included a £2.2bn increase in defence spending over the next year to help the government reach its goal of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027.

The chancellor also deepened previously announced welfare cuts alongside further departmental spending reductions to make up for £10bn in lost fiscal headroom since her October budget, caused by poor growth and global instability.

The government’s own impact assessment estimates another 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – could be pushed into relative poverty by 2030 because of the measures.

However Ms Reeves said that assessment did not take into account steps the government was taking to get people back into work. She has also rejected a separate analysis that suggests the average family could be £1,400 a year worse off by the end of the decade.

Labour MPs unhappy

Several Labour MPs have spoken out against the cuts and some have said they will vote against them. However Ms Reeves is believed to have staved off a full-scale rebellion for now, as most trust she is serious about getting the nation’s finances back on track.

The chancellor is determined to stick to her self-imposed fiscal rules, including using tax receipts rather than borrowing to account for day-to-day spending.

However she may come under pressure to change course if global factors like Donald Trump’s trade war eat into her fiscal headroom again by the time of the next budget in October – meaning she would have to raise taxes or announce further spending cuts in order to balance the books.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned tax rises are likely in the autumn as Ms Reeves has left herself vulnerable to forecast changes, speculating that pensioners and the wealthiest could be targeted in the raid.

Earlier this week, a YouGov poll found three quarters of the British public would support tax rises on the very richest over expected cuts to public spending, including a 2% wealth tax on net assets worth more than £10m.