Jyotee Gunnooa and Andrew Byles hope to challenge what lawyers have described as “outdated” rules relating to Widowed Parents’ Allowance (WPA).

Now replaced with Bereavement Support Payment, WPA was previously available to parents with children after the death of their spouse or civil partner.

While a 2018 Supreme Court ruling declared the restriction discriminatory, and subsequent legislative changes extended eligibility to unmarried, cohabiting parents, the changes only applied to claims made after August 2018.

Ms Gunnooa’s partner died in 2016, leaving her to raise their three-year-old son as a single parent. Despite living together for 12 years, she was denied WPA because she and her partner were not married.

The law changes allowed her to claim some backdated payments, but excluded the period between October 2016 and August 2018, leaving her family £16,000 out of pocket, say her lawyers at Leigh Day.

Ms Gunnooa is joined in her legal fight by Mr Byles, who lost out on £14,000 after his partner’s death in 2017 following a cancer diagnosis 10 years earlier – again, because they were not married.

The pair aim to highlight the harm caused to them by the arbitrary cut-off date for eligibility for the allowance and to secure equal treatment for bereaved children and their surviving parents.

They have instructed Tessa Gregory and Sarah Crowe at Leigh Day to make applications to the ECtHR in relation to their cases.

Ms Crowe said: “The current system unjustly penalises bereaved families at their most vulnerable, simply because of arbitrary distinctions such as marital status or the date of a partner’s death. This is not only deeply unfair but also discriminatory. The law must recognise the reality of modern families and ensure that all bereaved children and their surviving parents are treated equally. Jyotee and Andrew’s courageous fight is a step toward achieving justice for thousands who have been denied the support they deserve.”