Always on
This project successfully funded on 11th October 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Hugh’s Law: Protecting Parents of Sick Children
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
We’re fighting to change the law so parents of seriously ill children don’t lose their jobs when their child needs them most.
Our son Hugh died of cancer at just 6 years old. In our grief, we discovered a devastating truth: in the UK today, there is no legal right for parents to take paid leave when their child becomes critically ill.
Families are being forced to choose between keeping their job or being at their child’s bedside. Parents are being pushed into debt, facing redundancy, or using annual leave while their child fights for life. It is cruel, outdated, and unjust.
That’s why we created Hugh’s Law.
Hugh’s Law is a campaign to change UK employment law so that parents of seriously ill children can take protected, paid leave , just like parents with babies in neonatal care now can. It’s a simple, humane policy: protect jobs, support families, and give parents the right to be there when it matters most.
Over the last year, we’ve taken this fight all the way to Parliament and to the Lords. We’ve written to MPs, met ministers, and debated the law in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Hugh’s Law has received cross-party support and overwhelming public backing. But politics is slow and complicated and without continued pressure, it could be lost in a sea of competing priorities.
We were so close in July 2025, we lost by 36 votes in the House of Lords, to make this a reality. Now we are more fired up than ever to make this a reality.
We are determined to see this through. But we can’t do it alone.
This crowdfunder will help us:
- Fund ongoing media and PR to keep the campaign in the national spotlight, including national adverts, website, Google ads, Social media and billboards.
- Support events and public actions that demand attention from decision-makers.
- Create and share powerful content and testimonies from affected families
- Work with experts to draft legal frameworks and present solutions to Parliament
- Continue lobbying and engagement with ministers and MPs from all parties
With your help, we can make Hugh’s Law a reality, for every family who may one day face the unthinkable.
Because it always feels like it happens to someone else. Until it’s you.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made