My Parental Bereavement (Leave & Pay) Bill has had its Second reading in Parliament today. The new law, once enacted, will give employed parents two weeks paid leave if they lose a child under the age of 18. I am really delighted that the bill is progressing so well through Parliament as the provisions goes significantly further than most other countries in providing this kind of workplace right for employees. There will be minimum cost to the employer as businesses will be able to claim back parental bereavement pay from the Government. I cannot imagine the suffering endured by parents who lose a child and this is a tiny thing we can do to help them start to rebuild their lives. Whilst the Government expects employers to be compassionate and flexible during these difficult times, there is currently no legal requirement for employers to provide paid time off for grieving parents. The new bill will mean that ,for the first time, employed parents who lose a child under the age of 18 will have the right to two weeks paid leave to allow them time to grieve. This will honour our Conservative manifesto commitment to introduce a new entitlement for parental bereavement leave. Sadly, I have had constituents who have gone through this dreadful experience and many others have shared their heart-breaking stories with me. Whilst some parents prefer to carry on working, others need time off. This new law will give employed parents a legal right to two weeks paid leave, giving them that all-important time and space away from work to grieve at such a desperately sad time.” I am grateful to the support from Members across the House and to the Government for its backing. Margot James MP, Business Minister, said: “We want parents to feel properly supported by their employer when they go through the deeply distressing ordeal of losing a child. That’s why Government is backing this bill which goes significantly further than most other countries in providing this kind of workplace right for employees.’’ The Bill will now go through the Committee stage for scrutiny in November.