New parental leave rules in England with ‘devastating’ loophole closed

A bereaved father has won a change to parental leave laws in three UK counties. After his wife died in childbirth, Aaron Horsey found he was not automatically entitled to paternity leave, but the Paternity Leave (Death) Bill was one of the last bills passed before the general election on 4 July.

Mr Horsey tragically lost his wife Bernadette, 31, while giving birth to their son Tim at Royal Derby Hospital in 2022. But because he had worked for his company for less than nine months, he was not automatically entitled to paternity or parental leave.

“Every time I think about it, it’s still pretty devastating to realize that in order to help anyone, they’re going to have to be in the same circumstances,” Mr Horsey told The Guardian. “But because of this law, the support will be there for these people and their employers.”

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“It’s the first time I’ve ever felt concerned when a general election was called,” Horsey said. “I wasn’t sure I had it in me to start over.” He added: “This law will only affect a very small number of people, but for those who do, the impact will be huge.”

“With an election coming up, it’s easy to think that it’s a constant battle of Labor versus Tory. But this highlights that politicians can and do work together, and there are people working hard for us,” he continued.

“I would prefer not to face this situation,” he told the national newspaper this week. He added: “But I did, and my wife’s impact on me as a person gave me that inspiration to succeed. And I hope I showed Tim too that you can make a difference.”