Family Leave and Baby Loss
- Kinza Barrett
- Jul 7
- 3 min read
Today's blog covers a sensitive topic, and is one we hope you will not ever need. However, it is important that we cover it and provide information for those who want to know/ or find themselves in this position.
The team at Teacher's SPL will always provide support for those finding themselves in these situations - please just drop us an email and ask.
Miscarriage, Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths
There are a few important distinctioins to be aware of here. Firstly, if your baby is born alive, at any gestation, even if they only live for a few moments - it is a live birth and you are entitled to maternity leave. A baby who dies within 28 days of birth is classified as a neonatal death.
In terms of pregnancies losses/ babies born sleeping the gestation is important.
Before 24 weeks the loss of a pregnancy is classified as a miscarriage. At this point you are not entitled to maternity leave or shared parental leave - but could instead make use of compassionate leave and sick leave if a doctor were to sign you off. (See Bereavement Leave below for additional rights those in NI have here).
From 24 weeks onwards loss of a baby is classified as a still birth. At this point you are eligible for maternity leave and can take the whole year off, commencing from the date of the stillbirth. Your leave, pay and legal protections would be exactly the same as anyone else on maternity leave.
Maternity vs. SPL
Whilst maternity leave can carry on as normal, it is not the same with Shared Parental Leave (SPL). SPL can only be booked when there is an intention to care for a child. This means that you can book your SPL whilst pregnant, or after the birth if all goes well. However, if your baby is stillborn or dies after birth, and you haven't already applied for SPL, you cannot apply at this point, as you will not be able to declare that your intention is to care for your child.
Prebooked SPL
If you have already booked your SPL then you are able to take it as planned. You also get an additonal fourth notice, allowing you to make a further change to the leave should you want to due to the change in circumstances (for example if you no longer wanted to take as much leave, or wanted to book more).
Bereavement Leave
Parental bereavment leave came into effect in England, Scotland and Wales in 2021. It gives both parents the right to two weeks of paid leave from work. This can be taken after matenrity/ paternity/ any prebooked SPL. In Norther Ireland this right was extended in 2026 to also cover families experiencing a miscarriage or pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Planning SPL?
The only option to ensure you can take SPL no matter what happens, and put yourself in the best position financially for whatever lies ahead, is to book your SPL earlier rather than later. You can book SPL as soon as you like during your pregnancy. Your employer will need the MatB1 form to process it, but this doesn't preclude you from putting your forms in earlier, even if just for some of the leave. If you are unsure on your exact return to work date you can always opt to apply for the first two blocks initially, keeping the third notice back until later on to give you flexibility.
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