It depends on at what stage of the pregnancy the miscarriage occurs and whether they meet the normal eligibility requirements.
The date of the employee’s expected week of childbirth on the MatB1 form should be used to calculate in which week of pregnancy they were when the miscarriage occurred. An employee who suffers a miscarriage before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy will not be eligible to receive Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). However, if an employee has a miscarriage or still birth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, SMP will be payable, providing that the employee meets the other qualifying requirements.
The employee must have been continuously employed for 26 weeks prior to the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC), and their average weekly earnings over a period of 8 weeks ending with the qualifying week must not be less than the lower earnings limit for national insurance purposes.
However, in most cases if they are not eligible to receive Statutory Maternity Pay they will be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or contractual sick pay if this is a term in their contract.
Parental bereavement leave is available to a parent who suffers a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, however a parent who suffers a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy is not entitled to parental bereavement leave.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill also reached Royal Assent on 24th May 2023 and aims to provide leave and pay for employees with responsibility for children receiving neonatal care, however the new rights will not come into force until April 2025.
