It’s time for employers to offer paid leave after miscarriages – Kate Hindmarch Yorkshire News

While it’s great that these organizations are taking the lead in giving women and their partners the safety net of paid vacations, there are still many places where this topic is taboo and employees struggle to generate conversations about their own circumstances.

As a result, many women and men have been left without support during what can be a very traumatic experience, with more than one in five pregnancies sadly ending in miscarriage.

Currently, there is no legal requirement to offer paid leave for miscarriage for a woman or her partner, and there is a lot of variation in policies between workplaces.

In some organizations, the only option for those affected is to take pregnancy-related sick leave, which is often paid at a fraction of their normal salary. This means that they will have the added stress of dealing with lost income while trying to cry.

The law has failed to protect these men and women at their most vulnerable, but even with the introduction of paid miscarriage leave, there are still significant issues and women’s reluctance to alert their employer to the fact that they have the intention of starting a family.

While the law stipulates that people in a workplace cannot be discriminated against for this, we see it happening over and over again.

This issue also raises an important point about the culture in many workplaces and the pressure many women have felt to postpone family formation because of the risk of losing job progression overall. If women are not comfortable talking about family planning, they are much less likely to want to talk about a potentially traumatic loss.

More companies introducing policies that make it easier for people to address the issue and encourage them to take the time they need is a great way to remove the stigma around this loss. After these recent high-profile organizations update their procedures, hopefully we can start to see others doing the same, making sure those in need are getting the right support when they need it.

It is encouraging to see companies from different sectors introduce this type of support, showing how this topic transcends typical corporate competition and puts the well-being of women and men at the forefront of this topic. This is a shared experience not just for millions in the UK but around the world and it will take a collaborative effort to combat and remove the barriers to support that many face.

We must continue to press for more protection for those who need it, to give them time to cry.

I hope this is just the beginning and that we continue to see more companies of all sizes follow suit.

Kate Hindmarch is a lawyer at Langleys