'Time to grieve’: 60% agree employers should offer paid bereavement leave for a pre-24 week pregnancy loss

• E.ON’s recent research found that over half (57%) of people think employers should offer maternity, adoption or equal parent leave for pregnancy loss beyond 24 weeks
• Over half (56%) of people think employers should offer equal parent leave for dads, LGBT+ parents, guardians, adoptive parents and kinship carers legally responsible for a child
• E.ON supports its colleagues with two weeks paid leave for pregnancy loss pre-24 weeks and beyond 24 weeks the company’s equal parent leave policy applies

E.ON and Working Families are joining calls for improved pregnancy loss support to be offered by employers to employees experiencing pregnancy loss.

For many, pregnancy loss is sadly all too common. Statutory bereavement leave currently only entitles those who experience pregnancy loss after 24 weeks to two weeks of paid leave, leaving many struggling for support and paid time off to come to terms with their loss.

E.ON’s recent research¹ found 60% of people think employers should offer paid bereavement leave for a pre-24 week pregnancy loss and a similar number (57%) think employers should offer maternity, adoption or equal parent leave for pregnancy loss beyond 24 weeks.

As part of its advocacy asks, Working Families’ work supports these findings by campaigning for parental leave reforms, including the provision of paid leave for all women and partners who experience a pre-24-week pregnancy loss.

E.ON is proud to be leading the way with its family friendly policies and offers greater support to its employees than the current statutory parental bereavement leave. E.ON supports either parent, or surrogate, with two weeks of paid leave for pregnancy loss pre-24 weeks. Where pregnancy loss is beyond 24 weeks, the company’s maternity or equal parent leave policy applies which sees fathers, LGBT+ parents, guardians, adoptive parents and kinship carers who are legally responsible for a child, regardless of relationship, all entitled to the same parent leave as those giving birth.

Helen Bradbury, Chief People Officer at E.ON UK, said: “We’re proud to be one of the UK’s top inclusive employers, offering support to our colleagues in all aspects of their professional and personal lives so they can bring their best self to work. For us, offering our colleagues comprehensive support when they need it is simply the right thing to do and we encourage more employers to follow suit.

“We know from speaking to our colleagues that they appreciate the support we have in place, and it’s clear that the British public agree with over a third of people (37%) agreeing employers should offer support as soon as an employee or their partner becomes pregnant and an additional 13% believing this support should start as soon as an employee starts planning or thinking about having a baby.”

E.ON’s research also found that half of Brits (51%) are unaware of the fertility and pregnancy support their employer provides and only a quarter (27%) are happy with their current level of support. There is a knowledge gap that needs to be addressed to ensure that people can access the support they are entitled to and highlight where any gaps in support currently exist.

An E.ON colleague who experienced two pre-24 week pregnancy losses said: “I felt very supported by my line manager and by E.ON after both of my miscarriages. Looking back, it was a bewildering, emotional and traumatising time. I was in my early weeks of pregnancy and didn’t know what pregnancy really felt like yet, let alone pregnancy loss.

“My first miscarriage was devastating, and I simply couldn’t have coped with coming into work, so it meant a lot to me that my manager was so understanding and allowed me to take the time I needed to come to terms with the emotional loss as well as the physical side of things. My second miscarriage happened quite soon after and began on work premises. To know that I could simply leave the office and not feel I had to tell my manager exactly what was happening meant a lot to me, especially as I hadn’t yet spoken to my husband.

“I’m incredibly grateful and proud to work for a company that values not only my contribution at work, but also me as a person. I honestly find it shocking that a decade after I was treated with the respect and kindness that I was at E.ON, many companies still do not make provisions for people in my position. In 2025, I really believe organisations can and should do better.”  

As well as support for pregnancy loss, those surveyed also believe employers should offer paid time off to attend pregnancy related appointments with a GP/midwife or at the hospital (64%) and adoption related appointments (47%), with half (52%) stating this should also be offered for people to attend these appointments with their partner. Almost two-thirds (62%) think employers should offer paid time off if a child is in neonatal care and over half (56%) believe employers should offer equal parent leave for dads, LGBT+ parents, guardians, adoptive parents and kinship carers legally responsible for a child.

Jane van Zyl, CEO at Working Families, added: “Through our free legal advice line, Working Families see every day how crucial family-friendly workplace policies are to ensuring parents and carers can manage work and family life effectively. The current statutory parental leave framework leaves too many families unsupported during deeply challenging times, like pregnancy loss.

“We commend E.ON for leading the way with progressive policies, and we urge other employers to follow suit. We can see from the people we speak to and from looking at the evidence that offering fair, flexible, and inclusive parental leave isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s good for employees, their families, and for businesses. We call on the government to make much-needed changes to statutory provisions, ensuring that all parents are able to take leave from work regardless of their employment status, rates statutory pay levels mean that leave is affordable to take, and fathers and partners have access to their own leave entitlement.”

E.ON has a wide variety of family friendly support in place which includes maternity cafes for those planning or thinking about having a baby, paid leave if a child is in neonatal care and paid time off for either partner to attend pregnancy, surrogacy and/or adoption related appointments. E.ON also offers its colleagues unlimited paid fertility leave for both partners, or surrogate, to cover attending appointments, treatment and to support emotional and mental wellbeing.

E.ON also promotes flexible working and empowers its colleagues to choose the most appropriate arrangement, with the support of their manager, to maximise their performance – and anyone can request it from day one of joining E.ON. Over half of E.ON’s colleagues now have some form of flexible working pattern in place², including flexible start times and compressed hours. Working flexibly can help parents and carers return to and stay in work, through balancing caring responsibilities and maintaining career progression.

For more information on E.ON’s commitment to its colleagues, visit eonenergy.com/inclusion.

For more information about Working Families, including its free legal advice line, advocacy work, and partnerships with employer members, visit workingfamilies.org.uk.

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