Law Centre seeking justice for bereaved parents

It is only in recent years that the law was changed to equate unmarried parents’ entitlements to the same bereavement benefits as those of married parents. This change was introduced following a legal challenge brought by Siobhan McLaughlin. When the law was changed in 2023, Parliament only applied the new terms from the date of the judgment in her case, 30 August 2018.

This left the Law Centre’s two clients in a bind. Each had been rejected for bereavement benefits in 2016 and 2017 respectively, but had appealed these decisions at tribunal. The tribunals could not decide because they were awaiting the outcome of the McLaughlin case, so the mothers’ appeals remained outstanding. Then, the new terms set by Parliament in 2023 left the mothers without entitlement to the bereavement benefits that they had sought all along.

The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland will now consider if a remedy should be available to the mothers, and the outcome will have implications for others in their circumstances.

Owen McCloskey, head of social security at Law Centre NI, said:

“The bereaved mothers we represent have suffered tragedy, followed by injustice, when they were denied access to bereavement benefits at a time when they needed them most.

“It has been established that the legislation that prevented their access discriminated against unmarried parents and was in breach of their human right to a family life. The Remedial Order passed by Parliament does not remedy the loss suffered by the appellants we represent, and we have taken this test case to seek clarification for our clients and others in their circumstances.”

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