WORCESTER’S MP Robin Walker has backed proposals for a new law which would give grieving parents the right to two weeks’ paid leave for the first time.
Currently there is no legal requirement for employers to provide paid time off for parents who lose a child under the age of 18.
This could all be set to change after MP Kevin Hollinrake submitted the Parental Bereavement Bill, which is backed by the Government, to Parliament.
The bill proposes a day-one right to parental bereavement leave and employees with a minimum of 26 weeks’ continuous service will be eligible for statutory parental bereavement pay.
There are still a number of hurdles for the bill to pass before it becomes law, but Worcester’s MP Robin Walker was in the House of Commons last Friday to support a second reading of the bill.
It is hoped the bill will become law in 2020.
Mr Walker said: “I was really pleased to be there in support of this important piece of legislation, which will rightly enshrine in law the right of parents to take the time and space they need to grieve in such tragic circumstances.
“For the Government this is another manifesto promise that has been honoured, and I congratulate my parliamentary colleagues Kevin Hollinrake and Will Quince, who have both been instrumental in driving this compassionate legislation forward.
“I will continue to offer my support for the bill as it makes its way through Parliament.”
