Going further than the Employment Rights Act
Why CHAS is going further than the Employment Rights Act to support our people.
As Director of People and Strategy at CHAS, I spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to care well - not only for the children and families we support, but for the colleagues and volunteers who make that care possible.
At CHAS, we operate at the hard end of the hardest thing. Our teams support children who may die young, and families who are living with uncertainty, grief, trauma and bereavement. That work is extraordinary. It is also emotionally complex.
So when we talk about employment rights, family leave and compassionate workplace policies, this is not just a compliance exercise for us. It’s about recognising the reality of the work our people do, and the responsibility we have to support them when life outside work is painful, uncertain or overwhelming.
The legal context matters, but it should not be the ceiling
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is introducing significant changes to workplace rights over 2026 and 2027. Some of these changes relate to family leave and bereavement, including the planned expansion of rights for people experiencing pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Those developments are welcome. They signal an important shift in recognising that experiences such as miscarriage, fertility treatment and pregnancy loss are not peripheral to working life. They are deeply human experiences, and they affect people physically, emotionally and practically.
But for organisations like ours, the law should be the floor, not the ceiling. If we wait only for statutory requirements to tell us how to support people, we risk missing what our colleagues are already telling us through their lived experience.
Why this matters in a children’s hospice charity
Fertility treatment can be physically exhausting, emotionally intense and unpredictable. Early pregnancy loss is common, but it is too often experienced silently, with people feeling they have to carry on as normal or explain something deeply personal before they can access support.
In any workplace, that is difficult. In a children’s hospice charity, it can be even harder.
Our colleagues may be supporting families whose children are seriously ill or may die young. They may be walking alongside bereaved parents and siblings. They may be holding emotional weight through their professional role while also navigating fertility treatment, miscarriage or loss in their personal life.
We cannot pretend that work and life are neatly separate in those moments. If we are asking people to work in a trauma-facing environment, then we have a responsibility to support them as whole people.
What we are choosing to do at CHAS
CHAS is choosing to move early and go further than the minimum legal requirements. We are introducing enhanced support for colleagues experiencing fertility treatment and early pregnancy loss, because it is the right thing to do for our people and it reflects who we are as an organisation.
For colleagues undergoing fertility treatment, including partners, we are introducing up to two weeks’ paid leave. This recognises that fertility treatment involves appointments, procedures, uncertainty and emotional strain. It also recognises that there are different routes to parenthood, and that partners need support too.
For colleagues experiencing miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, including before 12 weeks, we are introducing dedicated leave and support. This will also be available to partners. We want to recognise both the physical recovery and the emotional impact of loss, without requiring people to use annual leave or over-explain what they are going through.
We are also making sure colleagues understand the wider support already available to them. CHAS provides a health cash plan free of charge to all colleagues, which can offer financial support where someone has a hospital stay as a result of pregnancy or birth complications. This is another practical way we can reduce pressure at an already difficult time.
This is about trust, discretion and flexibility. It is about making it easier for colleagues to take the time they need, without adding pressure at a time when they may already feel vulnerable.
The role of managers and culture
Policy matters, but culture is what makes policy real. Managers set the tone for how safe people feel in accessing support. A compassionate policy will only make a difference if people believe they can use it without judgement, awkwardness or unnecessary intrusion.
That means encouraging managers to lead with care: to respect privacy, listen well, be flexible where they can, and avoid making colleagues carry the burden of educating others about their experience. It is not about getting every conversation perfectly right. It is about creating enough safety for people to be honest about what they need.
A wider commitment to being trauma-informed
This change is part of our wider ambition to be a trauma-informed organisation. For us, that means paying attention not only to the trauma experienced by the children and families we support, but also to the cumulative emotional impact on the people delivering care, support and services every day.
Third sector organisations often talk about compassion, dignity and care. The challenge is to make sure those values apply internally as well as externally. Looking after each other through life’s hardest moments is not an optional extra; it is part of the infrastructure that allows people to keep doing difficult, meaningful work.
Why going the extra mile matters
For the third sector, there is an important lesson here. Compliance is essential, but values-led leadership asks a different question. Not simply, “What are we required to do?” but “What do our people need from us, given the work we ask them to do?”
At CHAS, our answer is clear. If we are serious about being a compassionate organisation, this is what that looks like in practice. We will meet our legal responsibilities, but we will not stop there. We will keep listening, keep learning, and keep shaping support around the real lives of our people.
Because the people who care for children and families through the hardest moments deserve to know that, when life is hard for them too, their organisation will stand alongside them.