TALA founder Grace Beverly praised for 'incredible' miscarriage policy as UK rights explained

Warning: This article contains discussion of baby loss which some readers may find distressing.

One business owner has been inundated with praise for her 'incredible' policy surrounding stillbirths and miscarriages.

In the UK, if a baby is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, eligible parents are legally entitled to statutory maternity or paternity leave. This is the minimum employers must provide.

A miscarriage before 24 weeks does not give a legal entitlement to statutory maternity leave. An employer may offer compassionate leave, paid pregnancy loss leave or other support, but that's usually down to company policy, Acas explains.

However, a stillbirth from 24 weeks onwards is treated differently in law. The birth mother can be entitled to up to 52 weeks' statutory maternity leave (assuming eligibility), and partners may also qualify for statutory paternity leave and parental bereavement leave.

And this is exactly what Grace Beverley, founder of activewear brand TALA, has in place at her company - plus more.

Speaking on a recent podcast episode of Great Company with Jamie Laing (24 June), the 29-year-old entrepreneur, who endured a miscarriage herself, explained: "We've made changes at TALA to actually introduce a miscarriage policy, like to introduce the fact that you can have prolonged leave, obviously including prior to 24 weeks, but after 24 weeks if you lose your pregnancy at TALA you can take full maternity leave.

"And the same with full paternity leave."

She continued: "Because it's entirely unfair that you wouldn't get your baby and then also you're expected to, 'Well, you didn't have that, so here we go. Guess you're back to work'."

TALA offers a substantial early miscarriage policy permitting double the leave versus statutory, something which didn’t even have a statutory requirement prior to this past year.

When the company implemented the change, zero leave was required.

Additionally, TALA's maternity, paternity and post 24 weeks loss policies for both mothers and fathers are fully enhanced pay.

After watching the clip, fans rushed to social media to shower Grace with praise.

"This is what happens when women run companies, I f*cking love it," she beamed.

A second chimed in: "This topic is sooo important, and so many women will applaud you for speaking out!"

"This is so needed. The invisible grief that miscarriages can cause should have more space to be discussed," applauded a third.

Another chimed in: "Grace Beverley is THE woman. Not forgetting the heartbreaking miscarriage she had, she’s speaking out for all of us women who have gone through it. What a woman."

And a final person echoed: "This topic is sooo important and so many women will applaud you for speaking out!"

If you need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the Tommy’s team at [email protected]. You can also call them for free on 0800 014 7800, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.