No parent wakes up believing their child will become seriously ill. We make plans: the school run, work, tea, bedtime, the weekend. Childhood cancer or a life-threatening diagnosis belongs to somebody else’s family. It is never you, until, and in a single conversation, it is.
In October 2020, my wife Frances and I were told that our six-year-old son, Hugh, had cancer. Our world stopped overnight. For the next ten months, our lives became hospital wards, treatment, fear and trying to keep Hugh alive while somehow holding the rest of our family together. Our younger son, Raife, was only three. Hugh died sadly on 18th September 2021.
When Hugh was diagnosed, he rightly and thankfully received a treatment plan. But there was no plan for us as parents. We were expected to be at his bedside, provide comfort, make decisions and give consent, while continuing to manage work, bills, a mortgage and the needs of Hugh’s little brother. We discovered there was no dedicated statutory entitlement to protected leave and pay for parents in our position.
That is why we have campaigned for Hugh’s Law: a standalone legal right to protected time away from work, with financial support, when a child becomes seriously ill. It would allow parents to be where their child needs them without being forced to choose between the hospital bedside and keeping a roof over the family’s head.
Hugh’s Law would not be something every parent claims. It would be a guarantee every parent could rely on if the unimaginable happened. It can feel rare or remote; we once thought so too. But none of us can predict an accident, cancer diagnosis or sudden deterioration. The parents who may need Hugh’s Law tomorrow are doing the school run today.
Support should not depend on whether someone has a compassionate employer, savings in the bank or the right kind of contract. Without a national baseline, two families facing the same devastating news can receive completely different support. One parent may be given paid time and reassurance; another may lose income, their job or both. A family should not have to break before the state notices them.
The impact of this gap is enormous. Our campaign evidence indicates that 95% of parents experience financial hardship after a child’s diagnosis, 88% reduce their hours or leave work, and 79% say their mental health worsens. This pressure does not stay outside the hospital room. It affects a parent’s ability to cope, the security of siblings and the whole family.
Hugh’s Law is not special treatment. It is a practical safety net for an acute family crisis. It can also help employers retain experienced staff instead of losing people at the moment they most need compassion. More than 30,000 employees already have access to the principles of Hugh’s Law through employers that have voluntarily adopted them. That shows the idea is both needed and workable. Parents in this situation will be with their child no matter what, but should they be financially ruined for doing what any parent would do?
The Government is now consulting on employment rights for parents of seriously ill children. Every parent should care about the outcome not because they expect to use Hugh’s Law, but because no family knows what tomorrow may bring.
Parenthood is a promise that we will stand beside our children when they need us most. The law should make that possible. Because ultimately, it’s never you until it is and when it is, the impact is huge.