Irish Government Publishes General Scheme of Pregnancy Loss Leave Bill 2026
The Irish Government has approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Pregnancy Loss Leave Bill 2026, which proposes a new statutory leave entitlement for employees who experience a pregnancy loss before 23 weeks’ gestation.
On 14 July 2026, the Irish Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Pregnancy Loss Leave Bill 2026 (the “General Scheme”). It is proposed that a Bill will be drafted to provide leave for pregnancy loss prior to 23 weeks’ gestation.
Currently, the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2022 provide for 26 weeks statutory maternity leave and 16 weeks of additional unpaid leave in the event of pregnancy loss at or after 23 weeks. However, there is no equivalent statutory entitlement where a pregnancy loss occurs before that point. The proposed legislation seeks to address this gap.
Under the General Scheme, employees who experience a pregnancy loss before 23 weeks’ gestation would be entitled to five days paid per year. The entitlement to leave would be a day-one right, while entitlement to payment would be subject to a 13-week service requirement.
The leave would have to be taken within 56 weeks of the pregnancy loss and will require medical certification. The proposed payment mechanism for this leave is would be employer-funded and calculated in line with the current statutory sick pay entitlement, at 70% of the employee’s daily rate of pay, subject to a cap of €110 per day.
The proposed legislation also contains a number of significant employment protections. Employees taking pregnancy loss leave would be protected from penalisation, and the General Scheme proposes amendments to the Unfair Dismissals Act to provide that any dismissal connected to the exercise of this entitlement would be automatically unfair. In addition, periods of pregnancy loss leave would count as reckonable service for employment rights purposes, ensuring that employees do not suffer any detriment to their continuity of service or related statutory entitlements.
Commentary
The proposed Pregnancy Loss Leave Bill 2026 represents an addition to existing statutory family leave entitlements and will require employers to review existing leave policies once the legislation is enacted.
