Miscarriage bereavement leave -a sensitive well thought proposal or would there be unintended consequences

[mids2019]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9k12w5j54o

This is extremely sensitive but I wonder if this well meaning proposal would become a reality in the workplace. I think in terms of employment the application of the rules may result in a scrutiny that would be potentially intrusive.

For example how would you prove to your employer you were pregnant?

Would the period of gestation count towards the leave given?

Would a father of the unborn child be entitled to similar leave to grieve and support their partner?

I think in the whole this is compassionate and a good stride forward but I do wonder about its practical uptake.

I had 3 miscarriages. The one at 6 weeks (not a 'chemical' as some people say so dismissively) but a pregnancy where I had seen a heartbeat (was scanned early due to previous miscarriage) was more physically traumatic due to severe blood loss and hospitalisation than the missed miscarriage at 12 weeks with d&c. I don't think you can dismiss early or multiple miscarriages as not needing leave. I went back quite quickly after the first 2, shouldnt have done in hindsight, but was floored but the third. My employers were great (this was 20 years ago) and I had 2 weeks off, my Dr wanted to sign me off for longer. The effects of my.miscarriages were profound though and long lasting even though they were 'early' in the scheme of things.

https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/information/miscarriage/chemical-pregnancy/
Not the point of the thread, I know, but for people struggling to conceive, minimising a chemical pregnancy as 'just a late period' can be really hurtful. It is still a loss.

This was the first thing that came to my mind, the legal threshold about what is a living being and a legal entity. AT present a baby is not a legal person until its born.

Bereavement leave is probably the wrong term therefore.

If you allow miscarriage to be defined in this law to happen at any point after conception i.e. no lower time limit then you really do have a law which is wide in scope for parents to request bereavement leave. A law that is too open may be a law that causes more problems than it solves.

Employers would be slightly more inclined to hide men, especially small businesses or ones demanding complete commitment.

Maybe more should be done in giving employers the tools to give psychological support or simple pragmatic actions like reducing workload or promoting a culture of kindness and understanding?

I think you need to be fair with any law and you have to consider how the leave would work for university students (or even school students). Would there have to be better policies for resorting exams for instances in the event of a miscarraige? Would there be an obligation for a university to address any course material missed if a miscarriage occured?

Also with abortion I think you will have a very sensitive issue with the family t there is no mandatory leave granted by employers but sick leave is usually offered. You might have the rather insensitive notion of women finding it better to take bereavement leave after an abortion rather then sickness leave. Also of bereavement leave is extended to fathers then would they be entitled to leave after an abortion for equality of the law's application? Women having a natural termination would fall under one category of law focussing on loss while women seeking clinical termination would be under a different section focussing on illness. Maybe this is an implicit message that the clinical abortion is somehow lesser in impact or even wrong?

Absolute minefield which ultimately I don't know will benefit women and actually was a widespread lobby for it?