‘What are people meant to do?’: widower fights for change to UK parental leave law

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Aaron Horsey, whose wife died in childbirth, had no automatic right to leave despite being baby’s sole carer

Aaron Horsey and his son, Tim.Last modified on Mon 28 Nov 2022 10.27 GMThen Aaron Horsey found out his wife, Bernadette, was pregnant he decided to change jobs to make sure he could work flexibly and be present for his new child. But when Bernadette died unexpectedly in childbirth, he suddenly realised the move had left him with no right to time off work to look after their newborn son, Tim.

“There was the emotional trauma of looking after a newborn baby, having to arrange a funeral, having to discuss things with the coroner, dealing with medical investigations,” says the 31-year-old. “And, at the same time, I’m thinking, well, if I don’t sort out my job, I’ll be unemployed in a week’s time, and then I’m going to be really stuck.”

He says that while his employer was very supportive and consistently assured him they would find a solution, he still found himself at the six-week postnatal checkup telling his doctor that, after a period of unpaid leave and holiday taken immediately after the birth, he was due to go back to work in a matter of days. The doctor signed him off sick and within a few months the company had put leave in place – but the process was complicated and difficult.

“To me it just immediately seemed wrong that in this tragic situation it is an employer’s choice if they provide leave, and, working with the government, we really want to explore how we can change that so that it’s a statutory obligation on employers,” says Henry.

 

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