New right to bereavement leave to cover step and half relatives

A new legal right to unpaid time off work after suffering a bereavement will cover step and half relatives, as well as foster, kinship care and adoptive relationships, the government has said.

From April next year, employees in Great Britain who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling will be entitled to up to two weeks' unpaid leave.

The government had already confirmed the new rights will also apply to parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Previously only parents who have lost a child aged under 18 or stillborn from 24 weeks had a legal right to bereavement leave.

The Employment Rights Act, which became law in December 2025, introduced a new legal right to unpaid leave for employees who have suffered a bereavement, including pregnancy loss, from the first day in a job.

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Following a consultation, the government has now set out exactly who the new right will apply to.

It said including step, half, adoptive, foster and kinship care relationships – where family or friends take care of a child when their parents are not able to - would "bring the UK's laws into the 21st century".