Inspiration to us all – baby Jack’s memory

So sometimes an issue comes to our attention that is so invisibly unjust that we need to take action. The below is one of them. It is the issue of how employers treat parents following the death of a child (something I can personally relate to) and the impact it has on wider mental health and relationships.

Casually, on twitter, I was approached by an amazingly inspirational Mother called Lucy. She has given me permission to share this message.

She said:

“This is an area that I discovered through the own death of my son 20 months ago. It seems you can have up to 12 months off for the birth of a child but only 3 days off if one dies. We are not the only country this applies too. Each employer has there own policy about bereavement time off for a loved one, and unfortunately companies do not take in to consideration the natural compassion of giving an employee time off.
I want this reviewing in the UK and then the European Union and eventually the Commonwealth. This is something as a Nation we do not talk about but Change needs to happen.

I am currently doing this on my own through the help of the media but I need help of someone who is as passionate about this change to happen for the future generations.

90% of relationships break down after the death of a child especially, I truly believe that if we had more time to grieve together then we would be more productive in our everyday activities.

You could also say this is a Health and Safety issue at work due to the fact that fathers who work with machinery are more likely to make a mistake which could effect others.

But unfortunately I can’t help but feel this all boils down to MONEY.

I originally said up to 12 weeks off paid leave, but having reviewed this and spoken to various parliamentary figures I can see that 4 weeks is more reasonable, not that you can put a time on grief, but 3 days is not reasonable!!!”

Truly inspirational story how less than two years ago, a mother can go through the worst sort of pain, yet channel that immediately into trying to make a positive difference for others. I ask you all to help raise awareness, contact your MPs and at the very least sign the petition here. Lucy can @dare2lead so can you

Follow Lucy on twitter @jacksrainbow