Northern Ireland will provide paid leave to parents following a miscarriage starting 6 April. Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald confirmed the new entitlements apply from that date.

The regulations extend existing parental bereavement leave and pay to cases of miscarriage. Workers and their partners qualify for up to two weeks of paid leave. This follows the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act passed by the Assembly in 2022, which covered child deaths under 18 or stillbirths after 24 weeks.

The leave becomes a day-one right for all workers, removing the previous 26-week employment requirement. Parents need only declare their entitlement, without medical evidence.

Minister Archibald stated that the rights enable women who experience miscarriage and their partners to take paid leave to grieve and support each other. She welcomed the Assembly's approval of the regulations.

Around 9,000 people in Northern Ireland face miscarriage each year, either directly or as partners. The region now offers this paid bereavement leave after pregnancy loss through miscarriage.