A GRIEVING mum was forced to return to work just weeks after enduring a traumatic stillbirth.
Lauren Hudson, from Sydney, lost her daughter Fiyori at 35 weeks in April 2017 – but was then sent a heartless letter by her employer.
The Aussie mum was told she was not allowed to take her 13 weeks maternity leave and had to return to work six weeks after the stillbirth.
Although this action from the employer is legal in Australia, it would not be in the UK.
If your baby is stillborn after the end of the 24th week of pregnancy in the UK, you are entitled to maternity leave and any maternity pay that you qualify for.
Lauren had been 35 weeks pregnant when she noticed Fiyori wasn’t moving as much as usual and decided to see her doctor.
“I went for a check-up and was advised that my daughter had passed away,” mum-of-three Lauren told A Current Affair.
Lauren still had to give birth to her baby girl, a process that is mental and physically devastating.
She described her ordeal as “an extremely difficult time”.
“I don’t think it had truly sunk in, the enormity of the loss,” she said.
“My daughter had gone and there was a huge gap in our family.”
The grieving young mum had previously applied for the 13 weeks paid maternity leave, which she was entitled to by her employer, as well as a year of unpaid leave to spend with her new baby.
But several weeks after Fiyori’s death, Lauren received an email from her employer that left her utterly speechless.
After hearing the news of her stillbirth, the distraught mum’s employer had drafted a legal letter and sent it to her inbox, notifying her that her maternity leave package had been cancelled.
The email also requested she return to work several weeks later.
“I was denied the 13 weeks paid maternity leave that I was expecting to take and also the 12 months unpaid leave,” Lauren said.
Lauren said her employer’s heartless email left her feeling completely “silenced” which, in turn, magnified her own grief.
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“I had small children I had to help through this grief, I had to recover from the delivery of my child, I had to make funeral arrangements,” she said.
“It was just shocking.”
Six weeks after her traumatic ordeal, Lauren returned to work.
MATERNITY RIGHTS Time off and pay for parents after loss of baby
In the case of a miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death, these are your rights to time off and pay in the UK, according to Maternity Action.
Miscarriage
If your baby is stillborn before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy it is treated as a miscarriage.
Unfortunately you cannot qualify for maternity leave or pay if you have a miscarriage.
If you need time off work following the loss of your baby you can ask your employer if they provide compassionate leave or you could ask to take annual leave or agree a period of unpaid leave.
Stillbirth
If your baby is stillborn after the end of the 24th week of pregnancy you are entitled to maternity leave and any maternity pay that you qualify for.
You should use the date on which your baby was stillborn, not the date your baby died if that was earlier.
This will be stated on the certificate of stillbirth issued by the registrar or a certificate of registration of stillbirth issued by your midwife or doctor.
Your partner will also be entitled to paternity leave and pay if s/he meets the normal qualifying conditions.
Neonatal death
A neonatal death is the death of a baby within the first 28 days of life.
If your baby was born alive, at any time during your pregnancy, but did not survive, you are entitled to maternity leave, and any maternity pay that you qualify for.
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