Changing the Holidays Act
Here is the letter to MPs that I'm working on. I have had advice from a local MP on this letter, and am now collecting more evidence from other people to prove that there is a need for this change (scroll down to see the messages of support received so far). If you would like to send a note of support please contact me.
Re: Change to Holidays Act
I recently became pregnant for the first time after several years of trying and ultimately undergoing IVF.
At our first scan we saw the baby’s heartbeat, but we also got some bad news. The baby was small – too small. It was dying. I had always thought a miscarriage was like a ‘heavy period’. I didn’t realise how physically and emotionally painful it would be, or how protracted it would be.
I work hard, but I also know my limits. I’m not the kind of person who never gets a cold. I also have endometriosis, which causes painful periods. Sometimes I take time off for that. Last year I used up my full allocation of sick leave. But I was pleased with myself for undergoing IVF without any disruption to my employer. I hadn’t counted on the miscarriage.
I took four days off for my miscarriage. One when I found out the baby was dying and I went home and cried all day. One when we were scheduled to have a ‘team day’ on a train and I did not want to have a miscarriage on a train. I took one day off for surgery, and another a couple of days later when I had mild complications which were nevertheless too severe to present at work with.
While trying to figure out what to do about my rapidly decreasing leave balance I looked into bereavement leave (Holidays Act, Section 69 (2)). I was shocked to discover that miscarriage is not explicitly referred to in the Act. The Act specifies that you can take bereavement leave if your ‘child’ dies – wording which leaves considerable ambiguity as to whether or not miscarriages apply.
I contacted the Ministry for Women. They emailed back saying, “I called MBIE and have been advised that the Ministry does not use strict medical definitions in relation to what is deemed to be a child and it would up be to employer and employee to discuss the nature of the loss and reach an agreement over the use and the amount of bereavement leave.”
It is completely inappropriate to leave it up to someone who has just suffered a miscarriage (or their partner) to argue the toss with their employer as to whether their baby was a ‘child’ or not.
I would like to clear up the ambiguity in the Act and make our employment law easier for employees and employers to interpret. I can see that politicians might worry that the wording could prove difficult. After all, what constitutes a baby? Humanity does not seem to have reached a conclusion on this.
To avoid confusion, I suggest adding a clause C that specifies words to the effect of: ‘on the unplanned end of a confirmed pregnancy.’ This gets around the vexed question of what constitutes a ‘baby’ or ‘child’ (which is also important for women whose miscarriages result from conditions such as anembryonic pregnancies). It also means employers can request proof (proof of pregnancy, and proof of miscarriage) should they need it.
One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, but there is very little discussion about miscarriage in society. Having a miscarriage is a scary, heart-breaking and lonely experience. It is a bereavement – not only of a little light that’s been extinguished, but of hopes and dreams for the future.
I was two months pregnant when I miscarried. Until I’d been through it, I would never have realised how much your life (and body) can change in two months or known how much you can grieve for someone you’ve never met. When we are ready we will name and bury our baby, and plant a tree in its memory. In the meantime we walk past the empty nursery every day. Bereft.
To go through the harrowing experience of miscarriage and then be excluded from easy access to bereavement leave is a kick in the teeth. I hope you will work with me to help ensure that women (and their partners) are treated with respect and dignity during and following the shattering experience that is miscarriage.
Re: Change to Holidays Act
I recently became pregnant for the first time after several years of trying and ultimately undergoing IVF.
At our first scan we saw the baby’s heartbeat, but we also got some bad news. The baby was small – too small. It was dying. I had always thought a miscarriage was like a ‘heavy period’. I didn’t realise how physically and emotionally painful it would be, or how protracted it would be.
I work hard, but I also know my limits. I’m not the kind of person who never gets a cold. I also have endometriosis, which causes painful periods. Sometimes I take time off for that. Last year I used up my full allocation of sick leave. But I was pleased with myself for undergoing IVF without any disruption to my employer. I hadn’t counted on the miscarriage.
I took four days off for my miscarriage. One when I found out the baby was dying and I went home and cried all day. One when we were scheduled to have a ‘team day’ on a train and I did not want to have a miscarriage on a train. I took one day off for surgery, and another a couple of days later when I had mild complications which were nevertheless too severe to present at work with.
While trying to figure out what to do about my rapidly decreasing leave balance I looked into bereavement leave (Holidays Act, Section 69 (2)). I was shocked to discover that miscarriage is not explicitly referred to in the Act. The Act specifies that you can take bereavement leave if your ‘child’ dies – wording which leaves considerable ambiguity as to whether or not miscarriages apply.
I contacted the Ministry for Women. They emailed back saying, “I called MBIE and have been advised that the Ministry does not use strict medical definitions in relation to what is deemed to be a child and it would up be to employer and employee to discuss the nature of the loss and reach an agreement over the use and the amount of bereavement leave.”
It is completely inappropriate to leave it up to someone who has just suffered a miscarriage (or their partner) to argue the toss with their employer as to whether their baby was a ‘child’ or not.
I would like to clear up the ambiguity in the Act and make our employment law easier for employees and employers to interpret. I can see that politicians might worry that the wording could prove difficult. After all, what constitutes a baby? Humanity does not seem to have reached a conclusion on this.
To avoid confusion, I suggest adding a clause C that specifies words to the effect of: ‘on the unplanned end of a confirmed pregnancy.’ This gets around the vexed question of what constitutes a ‘baby’ or ‘child’ (which is also important for women whose miscarriages result from conditions such as anembryonic pregnancies). It also means employers can request proof (proof of pregnancy, and proof of miscarriage) should they need it.
One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, but there is very little discussion about miscarriage in society. Having a miscarriage is a scary, heart-breaking and lonely experience. It is a bereavement – not only of a little light that’s been extinguished, but of hopes and dreams for the future.
I was two months pregnant when I miscarried. Until I’d been through it, I would never have realised how much your life (and body) can change in two months or known how much you can grieve for someone you’ve never met. When we are ready we will name and bury our baby, and plant a tree in its memory. In the meantime we walk past the empty nursery every day. Bereft.
To go through the harrowing experience of miscarriage and then be excluded from easy access to bereavement leave is a kick in the teeth. I hope you will work with me to help ensure that women (and their partners) are treated with respect and dignity during and following the shattering experience that is miscarriage.
Expressions of support
Sands bereaved parents Facebook group members
"Awesome work. Clearly this needs to be re looked as as essentially a mum could go and get a medical certificate but that leaves a grieving father with no right to bereavement leave. I know i needed my husband in the early days after my miscarriage."
- LL
"Totally agreed. I lost my first child and both of us my husband and I needed time off. A formal recognition is greatly appreciated."
- IF
"Fantastic effort. Babyloss is babyloss no matter what the gestation."
- AW
"It should be mandatory rather than up to the employer."
- AG
"I support this 100%. It is a loss no matter how far along you are and you need time to grieve. Good luck."
- VO
"I completely support this, both parents need time no matter at what gestation or how your baby died. Thank you!"
- AW
"I support this 100%, miscarriage needs to be recognised as bereavement leave."
- KH
"I agree a loss is a loss, miscarriages should count as bereavement too. Wither at 6 weeks, 12 weeks or 20 weeks like me."
- JP
"Absolutely I support this."
- NB
"Totally support this."
- KW
"Yes i believe it should be. If i had been working at the time i lost mine i would hve needed the time off to grieve but also to actually have the miscarry as i was in crippling pain."
- KD
"I support this! I spent one day working from home when I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Only a year later did I realise I never got to grieve for my loss and my work were completely rubbish. This is a wonderful thing you're doing Kathryn."
- AV
"I have not had a miscarriage but I totally support that people need time. There is a lot of stuff around women's reproduction that needs changes in our law and I think this is a great start."
- AP
"I found out at 17 weeks my baby boys heartbeat had stopped and had a D&C the next day. My bosses didn't even question details, giving me full bereavement and any time I needed off in the weeks following (which is awesome because they're all the biggest bunch of lads) This was a big help, I was incapable of functioning for awhile. Totally support this."
- KM
"I support this 100%. What a worthy cause."
- PL
"My husband's work were very understanding of the time off work, but he had to use AL when we lost our baby at 11 weeks. It is definitely a bereavement, so I support what you are doing."
- KM
"I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks (planned baby), and that absolutely rocked me to my core. Sucked going back to work all numb and in shock."
- CB
" My husband and I have 2 babies in heaven who we lost 15 & 14 years ago at 22weeks and 12weeks respectively. Fortunately we have much more supportive employers now that we did back then - we both (on both occasions) had to use sick leave and we're expected back within a couple of days. I really feel that formal recognition of our babies at the time would have contributed to improved recovery of our mental wellbeing. Even today our angel babies aren't acknowledged by family beyond us and our earth babies (19 & 17)."
- JR
"I think it should be included as bereavement. When i had mine i didnt get paid leave so i couldnt take off as long as i wouldve liked too."
- TC
"Yes I totally support this, great work. People need the chance to take time to grieve and acknowledge a miscarriage."
- ND
"I absolutely support this!"
- JS
"Both partners should be entitled to it. It was horrible for my partner because he had to use accrued annual leave hours and that was only a few days worth and because I wasn't working he wasn't entitled to any sort of paternity leave etc but he really needed it, as a result he wasn't coping well at all, not for a long time."
- SK
"Asbsolutely agree! My husband and I lost one of our twins at 19 weeks and were told the other one would probably be dead too, had weekly scans to try and confirm this all the while still having to be at work"
- CM
Miscarriage support Facebook group members
"Totally think miscarriage should be a reason to use bereavement leave."
- SG
"Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you for your courage here; one year on, there are still a few people in my circle whom I just telling about what happened now because I really shut down for months last year after some people's responses were judgmental or dismissive."
- KP
"Yes I agree it should be treated like bereavement. People just don't understand what it feels like."
- JB
"Great idea! I am also disappointed how the system treats women who are going through a miscarriage. It just makes an already hard process harder."
- SS
"Great idea, after 3 in 12 months I've had to take quite a bit of sick leave and although work have been understanding and supportive, if I need more sick leave it may have to be unpaid. Taking this time as bereavement leave would be certainly be helpful. Thank you for your efforts!!"
- EG
"100% should count ! TBH I would have thought it did already . Really sad that it's not. Love what your doing !!!!! Whilst I get miscarriage is a personal and private thing , I feel like it's also pushed to be that way. When it should be supported and open and spoken about for those that need it . I also hate the term " lost the baby " mm nope . Didn't leave her in the supermarket . .... so much shame and guilt is put on miscarriage. Shouldn't be that way . There's lots of room for growth here to help mothers !"
- AP
"Great idea.. :).. I think it would help a lot of people."
- JH
"Absolutely! Amazing when you think about it that it isn't already. Of course it should be."
- SI
"Yes this it should count, your just as devastated that you have lost your baby even if you never got to hold him/her."
- TM
"I agree. I had 3 in 12 months and after using all my sick leave, being pulled into the managers office to talk about why I'm sick more often than others and HR have concerns and do I need to action a health plan, is rather uncomfortable to then explain that I wasn't sick, I lost my babies. I think this is a great idea."
- MH
"I lost my very first baby on 9/1/2017 to miscarriage. After having a miscarriage confirmed, I took a week off work to help with the grieving process. My partner also took a week off. What really pissed me off is that he got given bereavement leave by his work, yet I wasn't, even though I was the one who was carrying the baby. After my week off, I attempted to go back to work but was not ready to so asked for another day off. I was told by my bosses to "get over it" and "move on" because it wasn't a real loss and that I had been taken off the rosters for two weeks and that they were now looking for a replacement for me as I had become unreliable. I handed in my resignation the next day. Miscarriage definitely needs to be recognised as bereavement leave."
- LF
"Yes, definitely agree and will give my support to see this happen."
- HP
"This is a great idea."
- SG
Support received via this website / social media
"I wholeheartedly agree that bereavement leave should be available to women who miscarry and their partners."
- EW
"I support the amendment of the Holidays Act to include Bereavement Leave for women and their partners who have suffered a miscarriage."
- MM
"Having a miscarriage for me was losing a baby. It was a loss.I'm confused as to why bereavement leave doesn't include miscarriage and think it needs to change to include this.There is definitely not enough information around miscarriage unfortunately."
- LG
"Yes, yes, a million times yes!"
- MB
"Well done 100% support I have had several and each time I have had to go back to work after it has been extremely hard as you not only had a miscarrage but lost your baby your body and minds takes a long time to overcome this loss. Not enough info on this and people aren't always sympathic as some people don't understand the sense of kids."
- S
"I support your amendment. It's absolutley worthy of bereavement leave and I'm surprised and disappointed it doesn't count."
- S
"While I haven't experienced this myself I have several friends who have and support for them in terms of bereavement leave and the availability of information and support would have made a huge difference. I support the amendment of the Holidays Act to include Bereavement Leave for women and their partners who have suffered a miscarriage."
- JG
"You know in counselling terms, a miscarriage is one of many types of 'disenfranchised grief'. What does this mean? It means it is a loss, just like the grief associated with a regular bereavement, but a loss that is not well recognised by society or talked about by society. Thus, there is a stigma associated to this type of loss which discriminates against those who are grieving and often prevents those affected from reaching out for help and support."
- MB
"There is a definite lack of reputable information available around miscarriage and something so sensitive should not be left to advice from dodgy Internet forums. Carefully chosen words and advice from professionals are much needed when people are at their most fragile."
- N
"I suffered two miscarriages in 2016. You don't have to be Oprah to work out that it's tough going and creates a whole range of emotions. One of them clearly is grief. My employer was kind enough to grant me bereavement leave on both occasions to help me recover physically and mentally. I believe this should be available to all women and 100% support the suggested change to our Holidays Act."
- AW
"Totally support this - have seen how this has impacted close friends and their partners - of course it should be considered a loss and bereavement leave applied - its a no brainer !"
- C
"Absolutely!! Miscarriage is such a taboo subject, unyet it happens to many of us! Definitely needs to be spoken about and families need to be supported appropriately."
- SM
"This is a bereavement of not just the life lost but of the future hope as well. The ramifications of grief are real and very present for both parents. I believe this wholeheartedly should be available to all women and support the changes suggested to the Holidays Act."
- KG
"After loosing 2 pregnancies last year (a single and twins) I support this fully. I used up all my sick leave and had to start on annual leave.
I agree bereavement should be an option for pregnancy losses"
- T
"I completely agree. I'm also unsure of what mechanism would be best in work place if women want to keep that information private. You shouldn't have to use up your sick leave and at same time we know that some employers discriminate in terms of pay rises and promotions if they think women are planning to become pregnant."
- LTF
"A fantastic initiative Kathryn. Totally behind this."
- PH
"All the way!!!!!"
- KW
"We will support your efforts to change the present policy as your right it's a real grieve"
- RA
"Couldn't agree more x"
- CD
"I thought that was a given. Obviously not. Wow, our laws seem so prehistoric."
- VW
"This needs to happen!"
- LG
"Going through a miscarriage often involve weeks of pain while your uterus recovers, hormones completely lost, sometimes lactation, and a wee one to say goodbye too."
- RB
"I think all fair and reasonable employers would provide for this. Would be great to see an amendment to Holidays Act though."
- LB
"I support this 100% Grief is the only word to describe what my husband and I went through. A year later and it still hurts. It should be something we don't feel needs to be hidden from our employers. For me, I choose to say I had a gastro bug. It is bereavement, and it should be recognised as such."
- N
"I would love for women to have the option to be able to take bereavement leave if they have miscarried. I miscarried my first pregnancy at my workplace and I felt like I had to carry on working that day and the next as I had just started at a new workplace. Good luck with your submission I fully support your efforts."
- AF
"Thank you for what you are doing. My partner and I lost two babies through a miscarriage and a pregnancy lost and my partner wasn't aloud time off work to be with me"
- TJ
"Fully agree!!!!!"
- AG
"Yes, I agree. Even after 33 years and several children and grandchildren later, it still brings back a lot of delicate feelings"
- YV
"Fully support. Greens bill asks for 10 days paid leave for victims of domestic abuse. I think it's past time to rethink the needs of women (and men) in the workforce. Bereavement leave should not have such bizarre limitations."
- JC
"Makes sense...although its also sad that this has to be legislated. As an employer I would not hesitiate (and have not) to give my staff paid leave in times of need like this."
- PR
"Awesome work. Clearly this needs to be re looked as as essentially a mum could go and get a medical certificate but that leaves a grieving father with no right to bereavement leave. I know i needed my husband in the early days after my miscarriage."
- LL
"Totally agreed. I lost my first child and both of us my husband and I needed time off. A formal recognition is greatly appreciated."
- IF
"Fantastic effort. Babyloss is babyloss no matter what the gestation."
- AW
"It should be mandatory rather than up to the employer."
- AG
"I support this 100%. It is a loss no matter how far along you are and you need time to grieve. Good luck."
- VO
"I completely support this, both parents need time no matter at what gestation or how your baby died. Thank you!"
- AW
"I support this 100%, miscarriage needs to be recognised as bereavement leave."
- KH
"I agree a loss is a loss, miscarriages should count as bereavement too. Wither at 6 weeks, 12 weeks or 20 weeks like me."
- JP
"Absolutely I support this."
- NB
"Totally support this."
- KW
"Yes i believe it should be. If i had been working at the time i lost mine i would hve needed the time off to grieve but also to actually have the miscarry as i was in crippling pain."
- KD
"I support this! I spent one day working from home when I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Only a year later did I realise I never got to grieve for my loss and my work were completely rubbish. This is a wonderful thing you're doing Kathryn."
- AV
"I have not had a miscarriage but I totally support that people need time. There is a lot of stuff around women's reproduction that needs changes in our law and I think this is a great start."
- AP
"I found out at 17 weeks my baby boys heartbeat had stopped and had a D&C the next day. My bosses didn't even question details, giving me full bereavement and any time I needed off in the weeks following (which is awesome because they're all the biggest bunch of lads) This was a big help, I was incapable of functioning for awhile. Totally support this."
- KM
"I support this 100%. What a worthy cause."
- PL
"My husband's work were very understanding of the time off work, but he had to use AL when we lost our baby at 11 weeks. It is definitely a bereavement, so I support what you are doing."
- KM
"I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks (planned baby), and that absolutely rocked me to my core. Sucked going back to work all numb and in shock."
- CB
" My husband and I have 2 babies in heaven who we lost 15 & 14 years ago at 22weeks and 12weeks respectively. Fortunately we have much more supportive employers now that we did back then - we both (on both occasions) had to use sick leave and we're expected back within a couple of days. I really feel that formal recognition of our babies at the time would have contributed to improved recovery of our mental wellbeing. Even today our angel babies aren't acknowledged by family beyond us and our earth babies (19 & 17)."
- JR
"I think it should be included as bereavement. When i had mine i didnt get paid leave so i couldnt take off as long as i wouldve liked too."
- TC
"Yes I totally support this, great work. People need the chance to take time to grieve and acknowledge a miscarriage."
- ND
"I absolutely support this!"
- JS
"Both partners should be entitled to it. It was horrible for my partner because he had to use accrued annual leave hours and that was only a few days worth and because I wasn't working he wasn't entitled to any sort of paternity leave etc but he really needed it, as a result he wasn't coping well at all, not for a long time."
- SK
"Asbsolutely agree! My husband and I lost one of our twins at 19 weeks and were told the other one would probably be dead too, had weekly scans to try and confirm this all the while still having to be at work"
- CM
Miscarriage support Facebook group members
"Totally think miscarriage should be a reason to use bereavement leave."
- SG
"Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you for your courage here; one year on, there are still a few people in my circle whom I just telling about what happened now because I really shut down for months last year after some people's responses were judgmental or dismissive."
- KP
"Yes I agree it should be treated like bereavement. People just don't understand what it feels like."
- JB
"Great idea! I am also disappointed how the system treats women who are going through a miscarriage. It just makes an already hard process harder."
- SS
"Great idea, after 3 in 12 months I've had to take quite a bit of sick leave and although work have been understanding and supportive, if I need more sick leave it may have to be unpaid. Taking this time as bereavement leave would be certainly be helpful. Thank you for your efforts!!"
- EG
"100% should count ! TBH I would have thought it did already . Really sad that it's not. Love what your doing !!!!! Whilst I get miscarriage is a personal and private thing , I feel like it's also pushed to be that way. When it should be supported and open and spoken about for those that need it . I also hate the term " lost the baby " mm nope . Didn't leave her in the supermarket . .... so much shame and guilt is put on miscarriage. Shouldn't be that way . There's lots of room for growth here to help mothers !"
- AP
"Great idea.. :).. I think it would help a lot of people."
- JH
"Absolutely! Amazing when you think about it that it isn't already. Of course it should be."
- SI
"Yes this it should count, your just as devastated that you have lost your baby even if you never got to hold him/her."
- TM
"I agree. I had 3 in 12 months and after using all my sick leave, being pulled into the managers office to talk about why I'm sick more often than others and HR have concerns and do I need to action a health plan, is rather uncomfortable to then explain that I wasn't sick, I lost my babies. I think this is a great idea."
- MH
"I lost my very first baby on 9/1/2017 to miscarriage. After having a miscarriage confirmed, I took a week off work to help with the grieving process. My partner also took a week off. What really pissed me off is that he got given bereavement leave by his work, yet I wasn't, even though I was the one who was carrying the baby. After my week off, I attempted to go back to work but was not ready to so asked for another day off. I was told by my bosses to "get over it" and "move on" because it wasn't a real loss and that I had been taken off the rosters for two weeks and that they were now looking for a replacement for me as I had become unreliable. I handed in my resignation the next day. Miscarriage definitely needs to be recognised as bereavement leave."
- LF
"Yes, definitely agree and will give my support to see this happen."
- HP
"This is a great idea."
- SG
Support received via this website / social media
"I wholeheartedly agree that bereavement leave should be available to women who miscarry and their partners."
- EW
"I support the amendment of the Holidays Act to include Bereavement Leave for women and their partners who have suffered a miscarriage."
- MM
"Having a miscarriage for me was losing a baby. It was a loss.I'm confused as to why bereavement leave doesn't include miscarriage and think it needs to change to include this.There is definitely not enough information around miscarriage unfortunately."
- LG
"Yes, yes, a million times yes!"
- MB
"Well done 100% support I have had several and each time I have had to go back to work after it has been extremely hard as you not only had a miscarrage but lost your baby your body and minds takes a long time to overcome this loss. Not enough info on this and people aren't always sympathic as some people don't understand the sense of kids."
- S
"I support your amendment. It's absolutley worthy of bereavement leave and I'm surprised and disappointed it doesn't count."
- S
"While I haven't experienced this myself I have several friends who have and support for them in terms of bereavement leave and the availability of information and support would have made a huge difference. I support the amendment of the Holidays Act to include Bereavement Leave for women and their partners who have suffered a miscarriage."
- JG
"You know in counselling terms, a miscarriage is one of many types of 'disenfranchised grief'. What does this mean? It means it is a loss, just like the grief associated with a regular bereavement, but a loss that is not well recognised by society or talked about by society. Thus, there is a stigma associated to this type of loss which discriminates against those who are grieving and often prevents those affected from reaching out for help and support."
- MB
"There is a definite lack of reputable information available around miscarriage and something so sensitive should not be left to advice from dodgy Internet forums. Carefully chosen words and advice from professionals are much needed when people are at their most fragile."
- N
"I suffered two miscarriages in 2016. You don't have to be Oprah to work out that it's tough going and creates a whole range of emotions. One of them clearly is grief. My employer was kind enough to grant me bereavement leave on both occasions to help me recover physically and mentally. I believe this should be available to all women and 100% support the suggested change to our Holidays Act."
- AW
"Totally support this - have seen how this has impacted close friends and their partners - of course it should be considered a loss and bereavement leave applied - its a no brainer !"
- C
"Absolutely!! Miscarriage is such a taboo subject, unyet it happens to many of us! Definitely needs to be spoken about and families need to be supported appropriately."
- SM
"This is a bereavement of not just the life lost but of the future hope as well. The ramifications of grief are real and very present for both parents. I believe this wholeheartedly should be available to all women and support the changes suggested to the Holidays Act."
- KG
"After loosing 2 pregnancies last year (a single and twins) I support this fully. I used up all my sick leave and had to start on annual leave.
I agree bereavement should be an option for pregnancy losses"
- T
"I completely agree. I'm also unsure of what mechanism would be best in work place if women want to keep that information private. You shouldn't have to use up your sick leave and at same time we know that some employers discriminate in terms of pay rises and promotions if they think women are planning to become pregnant."
- LTF
"A fantastic initiative Kathryn. Totally behind this."
- PH
"All the way!!!!!"
- KW
"We will support your efforts to change the present policy as your right it's a real grieve"
- RA
"Couldn't agree more x"
- CD
"I thought that was a given. Obviously not. Wow, our laws seem so prehistoric."
- VW
"This needs to happen!"
- LG
"Going through a miscarriage often involve weeks of pain while your uterus recovers, hormones completely lost, sometimes lactation, and a wee one to say goodbye too."
- RB
"I think all fair and reasonable employers would provide for this. Would be great to see an amendment to Holidays Act though."
- LB
"I support this 100% Grief is the only word to describe what my husband and I went through. A year later and it still hurts. It should be something we don't feel needs to be hidden from our employers. For me, I choose to say I had a gastro bug. It is bereavement, and it should be recognised as such."
- N
"I would love for women to have the option to be able to take bereavement leave if they have miscarried. I miscarried my first pregnancy at my workplace and I felt like I had to carry on working that day and the next as I had just started at a new workplace. Good luck with your submission I fully support your efforts."
- AF
"Thank you for what you are doing. My partner and I lost two babies through a miscarriage and a pregnancy lost and my partner wasn't aloud time off work to be with me"
- TJ
"Fully agree!!!!!"
- AG
"Yes, I agree. Even after 33 years and several children and grandchildren later, it still brings back a lot of delicate feelings"
- YV
"Fully support. Greens bill asks for 10 days paid leave for victims of domestic abuse. I think it's past time to rethink the needs of women (and men) in the workforce. Bereavement leave should not have such bizarre limitations."
- JC
"Makes sense...although its also sad that this has to be legislated. As an employer I would not hesitiate (and have not) to give my staff paid leave in times of need like this."
- PR
