‘I went back after three days’: calls grow for miscarriage leave

The committee acknowledged that several employers, including NHS Trusts and the Co-op, already had policies in place for employees who experienced baby loss.

However, it said this was not universal.

The committee chairman, Labour MP Sarah Owen, shared her own experience of baby loss.

“I was not prepared for the shock of miscarrying at work during my first pregnancy,” she said.

“Like many women, I legally had to take sick leave. But I was grief stricken, not sick, harbouring a deep sense of loss.”

The report describes sick leave as an “inappropriate and inadequate” way of supporting staff through baby loss, and points out that the low rate of statutory sick pay means some people cannot afford to take the time off that they need.

Kath Abrahams, chief executive of Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity, said she hoped the government would move quickly to change the law.

“For too many women, the psychological and physical impact of pregnancy loss is compounded by pressure to return to work immediately and a lack of time to grieve,” she said.

“It is unacceptable that sickness absence often remains the only option, potentially leaving women and their partners financially vulnerable,” she added.