Tuesday 09/December/2025 – 12:33 PM
The British Daily Mail newspaper revealed a new draft law in the country under which workers may receive a holiday of no less than a week in the event of the death of one of their relatives, as part of the labor rights reforms proposed by the Labor Party.
A new draft law regarding workers
The report stated that ministers are conducting consultations on expanding the scope of the condolence leave changes provided for in the draft Workers’ Rights Bill, presented by Labor leader Keir Starmer.
Under current rules, parents are entitled to up to two weeks’ leave if their child dies before turning 18, or if the mother suffers a miscarriage after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The proposed amendments stipulate expanding the right to obtain leave by at least a week, to include those who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks. The exact duration of leave will be determined in subsequent legislation after the end of the consultation period, provided that workers are eligible from the first day of work.
The proposed consultation also includes the possibility of extending the scope of leave to include the death of an extended family member, including blood relatives such as cousins, and even in-laws or relatives by marriage or lineage by merit.
This expansion can also include chosen family, including friends or relationships that replace the traditional family, as these cases also deserve consideration and recognition, provided that the employee takes the leave within 56 days of the date of death.
Joanna Marchong, head of external affairs at the Adam Smith Institute, told the British newspaper The Telegraph: This proposal may seem sympathetic, but it threatens to impose significant costs and administrative burdens on employers at a time when companies cannot afford it.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffiths said: It is important for employers to have an appropriate line on what is considered a family.
He explained that allowing almost any personal relationship to trigger a legal right to leave creates significant uncertainty for companies, as employers will not know when employees may go out to take leave, the length of their absence, or what documents are required, which could disrupt operations and increase the need for temporary hiring or costly overtime.
This came as former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner pushed Starmer to speed up workers’ rights reform, with ministers agreeing that the Workers’ Rights Bill would be implemented from January 2027 instead of October of the same year.
The timetable was accelerated after Rayner threatened to push through an amendment in the House of Commons to set a deadline of 2026, sending a message to Starmer that the government must not back down again after giving up first-day rights to claim unfair dismissal in the face of an impasse with the House of Lords.
