Debate contribution: Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 29 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5645148
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I beg to move
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
I seek the Assembly's approval for the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. The rule was made on 19 March and came into operation on 20 March. It is before the Assembly today under the confirmatory procedure, and I am grateful to the Committee for the Economy and to the Examiner of Statutory Rules for their scrutiny of the rule. The rule was made with the concurrence of HMRC, and I thank it for its assistance. I am also grateful to Members who contributed to the debate and passage of the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Miscarriage) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026. Those regulations extended parental bereavement leave and pay to parents who experienced pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, alongside existing provision for stillbirth and the death of a child before their 18th birthday. They were unanimously approved by the Assembly on 24 March 2026 and came into operation on 6 April 2026. In my former capacity as Chair of the Economy Committee, I proposed that parental bereavement leave and pay should be extended to workers and employees who experience miscarriage and that the full entitlement should be available from the first day of employment. The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2022 placed a statutory obligation on the Department for the Economy to make those changes by 6 April 2026. The regulations before the Assembly today are a key part of that implementation and ensure the continued operation of the statutory parental bereavement pay framework. The policy objective is clear: to support bereaved working parents at a time of profound loss and provide a minimum standard of protection in law. Parental bereavement leave and pay are important employment rights. They recognise that grief is deeply personal and that working parents should not have to carry the additional pressure of losing income when they step away from work. Together, the 2026 reforms strengthen that support. They reflect the Assembly's commitment to an employment rights framework that is compassionate, practical and responsive to the realities faced by bereaved parents and their families. The confirmatory procedure means that the regulations before the House today have come into operation before the Assembly debate has taken place and must then be approved by the Assembly within the relevant statutory period. In this case, the deadline for approval is 20 September 2026. It is therefore right that the Assembly now has the opportunity to consider and decide on the regulations. By way of brief background, the policy to which the regulations relate builds on earlier consultation and legislative action to establish parental bereavement leave and pay. The aim has been consistent: to provide that support to working parents through the statutory right to leave, together with an associated statutory payment framework. The regulations update that statutory parental bereavement pay framework by removing the expiry provision and ensuring that the scheme continues seamlessly as we transition to a day-1 entitlement for bereaved parents in line with the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2022. That supports our wider legislative efforts to provide clear, effective support, including strengthened miscarriage provisions, and guarantees that working parents who face bereavement retain protected access to statutory pay. The regulations are now before the Assembly for approval, reflecting our commitment to compassionate and robust workplace rights. I commend the following set of regulations to the Assembly for approval. The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 amend the existing statutory parental bereavement pay framework by omitting regulation 37, which is titled "Expiry", from the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023. The expiry provision was originally included to reflect the transitional nature of the scheme when entitlement to statutory parental bereavement pay was subject to additional qualifying conditions, including a 26-week employment requirement. The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2022 required those conditions to cease no later than 6 April 2026, when the pay entitlement became a day-1 right. The amendment ensures the continued operation of those regulations and forms part of a wider package of legislative measures establishing statutory parental bereavement pay as an entitlement for bereaved parents. In particular, the regulations were brought forward to ensure that the existing pay framework can continue in operation and to support the wider 2026 changes, including the strengthened arrangements associated with miscarriage provisions and the move to a day-1 right to statutory parental bereavement pay. The regulations are before the Assembly, as I said, under the confirmatory procedure and require Assembly approval. They form part of the measures intended to ensure that bereaved parents continue to have access to a clear and effective statutory parental bereavement pay framework. I commend the regulations to the House.
795 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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