NHS England trusts recommended offering women two weeks of miscarriage leave
Women working for the NHS will be entitled to two weeks’ leave if they suffer a miscarriage, a move that has been hailed as an important step towards wider recognition of the trauma of losing a baby.
NHS England announced on Wednesday that all staff who lose a baby before 24 weeks should be given up to 10 days of paid leave to help them recover from the associated problems.
“The loss of a baby is an extremely traumatic experience that hundreds of NHS staff go through every year and it is right that they are treated with the utmost care and compassion when they go through such a distressing experience,” said Dr. Navina Evans, Chief Human Resources Officer. training and education.
Women will also be able to take more paid time off after a miscarriage for medical exams, scans or other tests, or to receive mental health care, as well as the two-week grieving period.
The partners of women who have suffered a miscarriage will also receive up to five days paid leave as a new right, if they also work for the NHS, as part of the initiative. Both the ten days for women and the five days for men will have to be taken as one block.
One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage. Many employees do not return to work after losing a baby, according to research by the Miscarriage Association and baby loss charity Tommy’s.
NHS England has produced guidance outlining its new approach to miscarriage. It sends it to all 220 health care facilities that provide care, which together employ approximately 1.4 million employees, 70% of whom are women.
Although it encourages trusts to adopt the policy, it cannot force them to do so. Trusts decide for themselves whether to offer the leave to staff.
NHS England believes the furloughs will help the service – which has 132,000 vacancies – tackle the problem of staff retention as significant numbers leave early in their careers or retire early.
It hopes to ensure 130,000 fewer staff leave over the next 15 years as part of the NHS long-term workforce plan published last year. It pledged to make healthcare a more compassionate and inclusive place, where staff wellbeing is a top priority.
NHS England’s initiative is partly inspired by the success of the programme Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Trustwhich introduced it in 2021. A survey at the trust found that staff were twice as likely to stay at the trust because of the policy.
“I hope this national policy to support mothers and parents with love and compassion at a terrible time in their work will be welcomed by the NHS and bring about positive change across Britain,” said Raffaela Goodby, Chief People Officer of the trust.
NHS England, by far Britain’s largest employer, now joins a list of organizations offering paid miscarriage leave, including: the Co-op; Channel 4; Universities of Oxford, Exeter and Essex; and Hodge, Jones & Allen, a London law firm.
Rachel Hutchings, a fellow at the Nuffield Trust health think tank, said recent research into the impact of parenting and caring responsibilities on surgeons found that some staff who had suffered a miscarriage did not feel well supported by the NHS.
“While some organizations have already introduced additional support for people who have lost a baby, it is incredibly welcome that this policy recognizes the experiences of these individuals and will ensure a more consistent approach,” Hutchings said.
Nikki Pound, the Trade Union Congress’s women’s policy office, praised the “very welcome step by the NHS” and urged all employers to provide paid leave to staff experiencing a pregnancy loss.
“This should be part of a wider pregnancy loss policy to help staff get the care and support they need, including partners. In addition to paid leave, employers should also consider the additional flexibility staff need and training for line managers,” she added.
Kath Abrahams, the CEO of Tommy’s, said the NHS policy “sends a strong message that employees going through this experience deserve understanding, compassion and the right to grieve – and that support is available no matter what your workplace looks like.”