LONDON, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Bereaved parents in Britain will be legally entitled to two-weeks paid leave under a new government bill announced Friday.
The paid grieving period will be one of the most generous in the world, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS).
A new law published Friday will give employed parents two weeks' paid leave if they lose a child under 18, with employers able to claim back parental bereavement pay from the government.
A spokesman for DBEIS said: "While the government expects employers to be compassionate and flexible at such a difficult time, there is currently no legal requirement for employers to provide paid time off for grieving parents."
"Under proposed new laws, for the first time employed parents who lose a child under the age of 18 will have the right to two weeks' paid leave to allow them time to grieve," he added.
Kevin Hollinrake, the politician who has sponsored the government bill, said: "I have had constituents who have gone through this dreadful experience and while some parents prefer to carry on working, others need time off. This new law will give employed parents a legal right to two weeks' paid leave, giving them that all-important time and space away from work to grieve at such a desperately sad time."
Business Minister Margot James said: "We want parents to feel properly supported by their employer when they go through the deeply distressing ordeal of losing a child."
Francine Bates, CEO of the Lullaby Trust charity said: "Losing a child is one of the most devastating experiences that a parent can go through and it is vitally important that they are supported by their employer and not made to return to work before they are ready."
The new bill is expected to start its journey in the Houses of Parliament later this month.
