We all have to experience grief at some point in our life, and as heartbreaking as it is, it is also natural. It can even be a definitive moment in our lives as we come to terms with our fragile mortality.

But most of us will only experience the grief of losing an elderly relative, where the natural ageing process has taken its toll and in most cases, the end has been expected for quite for some time.

To lose a child, on the other hand, is a loss most of us will never have to endure and few of us can imagine.

That's why the news that the Government is introducing two weeks of statutory bereavement pay is welcome, but not nearly enough.

It's welcome because previously, parents were only entitled to three days leave, one of which would be for the funeral. But it's woefully inadequate, for such a heartbreaking and devastating event in someone's life, to only be given a fortnight before you need to be back making money for your boss.

In this modern era, mental health struggles have come to the fore and generally people are much more understanding.

Why then, can statutory bereavement pay not be brought in line with statutory sick pay, which allows up to 28 weeks of paid sick leave? To lose a child seems far worse than any illness.