'Two weeks will make such a difference': UK first as NI brings in miscarriage leave

'Two weeks will make such a difference': UK first as NI brings in miscarriage leave 6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleChris PageBBC News Ireland correspondentBBCErin Sharkey: "All your dreams for gorgeous happy moments come crashing down"When Erin Sharkey had miscarriages, they brought devastation and uncertainty - not least when it came to her and her partner deciding how much time they should take off work to help to process their loss.But now, for her and others in Northern Ireland, there is an answer in extra support as it has become the first part of the UK where a woman and her partner are entitled to two weeks of paid leave if they experience a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy.For Erin, a volunteer with the Miscarriage Association, the move will "give people the validation for their feelings, and time to process the loss together". She said her employer had been supportive but "societally" she felt pressure to go back to work.Her miscarriages, she said, were like having "all your dreams for gorgeous happy moments come crashing down" - from planning to a future with a child to total loss."During the first few days, people were texting, saying they were thinking of me. But then that stopped. I thought I must have hit the point where people expect me to be OK."My partner didn't even take a day off work - because we knew other people who'd had miscarriages and their partners didn't take time off."If she had been there with me for two weeks, that would have reduced my trauma significantly."What miscarriage leave is available in Northern Ireland?The two weeks of leave for a woman and her partner is paid at the statutory level of just more than £194 per week, or 90% of weekly pay if that's lower.It can be taken as one continuous period, or as two separate weeks, within 56 weeks of miscarriage and parents do not have to provide medical evidence - they only hav...