Debate contribution: Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on .
- MLA
- Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 29 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5645161
Read the official Assembly record
Text
At first glance, the regulations appear to be highly technical, but behind them is something profoundly important. They are about ensuring that parents who experience the unimaginable loss of a child do not lose access to the support that, the Assembly has already agreed, they should receive. None of us wants to imagine being put in that position. The death of a child is one of the greatest tragedies that any family could experience. While no amount of leave or financial support can ever ease that grief, we have a responsibility to ensure that parents are given the time and dignity to begin processing such an unimaginable loss without the immediate pressure of returning to work. That is what parental bereavement leave and pay are designed to do. The regulations simply remove an expiry provision that was included when the original scheme was introduced as an interim arrangement. At that time, it was always intended that those provisions would be temporary while the longer-term framework was put in place, and now we have reached that point. Removing the expiry clause ensures that there is no interruption to statutory parental bereavement pay and that everyone who is entitled to that support can continue to receive it. It is a small legislative change, but it provides certainty for employers, the Department and, most important, bereaved parents. The SDLP has consistently supported stronger employment rights and workplace protections. We have also been clear that our employment law should recognise that workers are people first, with families and everything that goes with that. They have families, and they face life's joys and its deepest sorrows, and our laws should reflect that reality with compassion. The amended regulations do exactly that. They ensure continuity, remove uncertainty around legal barriers and give effect to what was always intended when the legislation was put in place. I thank the Minister and, as mentioned by Phillip Brett, the Minister in the previous mandate, for working towards what we have today. The SDLP is happy to support the regulations.
340 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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