VIDEO: Stewart Supports Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Bill

On the 15th June, Stewart voiced his support of the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Bill at its second stage in the Chamber.

Thank you Mr Speaker, I rise to speak in support of this important piece of legislation, and to welcome it to Second Stage.

The loss of a loved one is terribly difficult time, and I am sure everyone in this room has experienced such a loss. Balancing work and other commitments, while grieving makes this especially challenging.

The loss of a child by a parent or care giver, is of course a profoundly tragic and life-changing event. So I welcome this legislation, to support parents in such a difficult time, to help alleviate money worries, and give vital time and space to make arrangements and grieve.

The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act was passed in the rest of the UK in 2018, with the required regulations to give it effect passed last April. So we are running considerably behind in this bill, like so much of the legislation we are progressing these days, held back by years of intransigence. This meant the people of Northern Ireland had to wait for much needed legislation, while the usual, tired red lines were rolled out by the DUP and Sinn Fein. Something which we must never repeat…

But let’s look forward now to getting on with the backlog.

Right now we have a bit of a patchwork of entitlements for bereavement. There is an entitlement for unpaid time off for an emergency involving a dependant.

While this is better than nothing, as the Covid-19 Pandemic has proved, many people just cannot afford to take any unpaid time off, or if they do, the lost income adds further pressure at an already hugely difficult time.

Mr Speaker, grieving requires time and space from work and other commitments. As a society we should be ensuring that people are afforded this, and not forced to work and return much too soon, after the loss of a child.

It is only fair to note however, there are many employers that take a flexible and compassionate approach, already allowing for paid time off to employees, including for parental bereavement. This is to their credit. Ultimately however, we want to ensure this is made a clear, standardised, statutory right for all workers in Northern Ireland.

Much of what is in the Bill is really just setting the framework for the Department to build upon. However, we have already begun work in the Committee on ensuring clarity on what shape the final result will be, and the Department has of course provided its consultation response on how it will go forward with some of the key issues.

Firstly, on the specific issue of bereavement leave.

This Bill will place a duty on the Department to provide by regulations, a right for employed parents to take a minimum of two weeks’ time off following the death of a child. This will also apply regardless of when the employment commenced, so is a clear, Day 1 right for all parents in Northern Ireland.

The regulations are also due to establish the specific period in which leave can be taken. The Bill sets this out as a period of at least 56 days after the child’s death, but the Committee has been informed that the Minister intends to extend this period to 56 weeks. I welcome that, grieving is a complex process, and not everyone is ready to take leave immediately, in fact it may be later that a person finds they need the time and space that bereavement leave provides.

A key consideration introducing parental bereavement leave has been defining who can be considered a bereaved parent, and extending this beyond the standard definition to include carers who undertake parental duties. This reflects the fact that every family is different, and ensures that support for bereavement is given to those that are facing the loss of a child that they had a parental-like relationship with.

So we are broadly in agreement with the definition that has been implemented in GB, which allows for a primary care giver to be considered a bereaved parent. There has been a short amount of time for the operation of this legislation in GB, so we must continue to monitor how this is working in the real world.

It is welcome that parents who experience the loss of a child through stillbirth will be included in this definition. I also note that this legislation will not impact parents lose a child from 24 weeks, and have already accessed a family-related leave entitlement. So for example a woman taking maternity who loses her child in that time period will not be impacted, and is entitled to take the remainder of that. Clearly Mr Speaker, that is right.

I also believe we should be looking to extend this to parents who have faced a miscarriage - a traumatic, and life-changing event.

At Committee this was discussed, and the Department stated that the definition of miscarriage sat with the Department of Health. I am not sure what bearing this has on what can be done. Perhaps the Minister could clarify on that?

It is disappointing that this does not seem to have been specifically acknowledged in the consultation response, as the Alliance Party for one did raise it.

I do not see why there needs to be any change in definition, and I would not be seeking to change the definition of a miscarriage.

Ultimately, we just want support to be provided to parents facing the loss of a child and miscarriage - an incredibly traumatic experience for parents, giving them time and space to grieve just seems right.

This is something therefore that I, and my Alliance colleague Kellie Armstrong, will be seeking to progress at Consideration Stage.

In regards to the specific period of leave, and how it is to be taken, the Alliance Party believes there should be flexibility here. Allowing two weeks in total, but for those weeks to be taken discontinuously. This provides a balance, and flexibility to parents who may find they need to take time away later. This is the approach that has been adopted in GB, and I welcome DfE indication that it will follow.

Regulations will also deal with what notices and evidence must be given by an employee, and other procedures. I understand that this is quite a difficult balance to strike, as employers do need to be able to plan, but at the same time bereaved parents will be facing a life-changing and tragic event.

Of course, it is helpful if notice can be given, but standardising this is difficult due to how different every case will be.

I welcome the Department’s indication that it will legislate for flexibility so that notice is to be given as soon as practicable, for leave taken immediately following the death of a child, and a short one week notice for leave to be taken later.

In regards to the evidence requirements, I also welcome the Department’s assertion that they want to make sure that leave is taken when needed, and that they want to minimise impediments.

Unlike the entitlement to leave, an entitlement to pay will be linked with the length of employment; requiring at least 26 weeks.

I understand that there is a balance to strike, and that certain entitlements do generally arise from length of service. The Department states in the Explanatory Memorandum that it did look at making bereavement pay a day 1 entitlement. However, HMRC advised that this was technical but would result in a significant one off cost on the NI Budget, and it could also delay the progression off the Bill. I would be grateful if the Minister could also provide more specific details on this to us.

I do believe we should look at some sort of means to cover those who have not reached that threshold, and I do recall at Committee an official did suggest that discretionary funding schemes through DfC would be looked at. If the Minister could update us on that I would be grateful.

As we all know, bereavement can be sudden, and to leave people without any financial support due to this is unfair. So this bill is long overdue.

In closing Mr Speaker, I look forward to the Committee Stage and looking much more in-depth at the issues, engage with stakeholders, and look at how we could potentially improve this legislation.

Thank you Mr Speaker.