This week is National Grief Awareness Week (2–8 December 2024), which aims to raise awareness and offer support to those who have suffered loss. This blog provides a guide to bereavement leave and supporting grieving staff.
How should I deal with staff who have suffered a bereavement?
Of course, you should treat staff member who has suffered a bereavement with great sensitivity. This blog sets out the legal rights of bereaved employees, but you may choose to provide additional leave or make other arrangements for bereaved staff on top of any legal entitlement they have. You should treat employees equally, while recognising that everyone grieves differently and may require more or less time off.
Leave for arrangements following the death of a dependent
Employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to put arrangements in place following the death of a dependant (eg their child, spouse or civil partner, partner living in the same household or parent). This might include arranging and attending the funeral, registering the death, or applying for probate. Agency workers, casual workers and freelancers are not entitled to this type of leave.
Compassionate leave
There is currently no general legal entitlement for any staff member to take compassionate leave to deal with their grief as a result of a bereavement.
Many employers do, in any event, choose to offer some level of compassionate leave, such as a certain number of paid days off work in the event of the death of a close relative. Make sure you check your staff members’ contracts and any relevant HR policy you have in place. Even if you have a specific policy, you should aim to be flexible in your approach, since grief is a process personal to each person and, depending on the situation, some staff members may need more or less than the amount of time you have stipulated. You should also be careful to ensure that you treat all staff equally in your approach to allowing compassionate leave, in order to avoid any potential discrimination claims. Note that some religious faiths may require a period of mourning at home after a family member has died; these requests should be accommodated where possible.
While a staff member is on compassionate leave, you should keep in contact with them to show your continued support and to allow you to best assess when it is suitable to return to work, balancing this with giving them the space they need. You should also continue to support your staff when they return to work, being mindful of their physical and emotional wellbeing. Note that if grief turns into anxiety or depression, your staff may be entitled to take sick leave. For more information, see Dealing with sickness absence.
Bereavement and compassionate leave policies
It is best practice to set out your policy for dealing with bereavement and compassionate leave in your staff handbook. This should include when leave will be available, how much leave is offered and whether it is paid or unpaid.
For a template policy, see Staff handbook and policies (you can choose to generate the policy either on its own or as part of a full staff handbook).
Parental bereavement leave
What is parental bereavement leave?
Statutory parental bereavement leave is a period of leave from work available to certain staff who have lost a child. This right is sometimes referred to as ‘Jack’s Law’.
Which members of staff are entitled to take parental bereavement leave?
Only staff who are employees are eligible for parental bereavement leave.
If any of your employees loses a child under the age of 18 or their child is stillborn after 24 weeks’ pregnancy, they will be eligible for parental bereavement leave if, at the time of the child’s death, one of the following applies:
- They are the child’s biological parent (unless an adoption or parental order has been made and no contact order is in place with the biological parent).
- The child had been placed with them for adoption.
- In the case of an overseas adoption, the child lived with them and the employee has a written notification from the relevant UK authority stating that it is prepared to issue, or has already sent, a certificate to the relevant overseas authority confirming that they have been approved as an adoptive parent.
- The employee is the intended parent of the child in a surrogacy arrangement and has applied or intended to apply for a parental order (either alone or with a partner) within six months of the child’s birth, and expected the court to make that order.
- They are the child’s parent in fact because the child lived with in their home for a continuous period of at least 4 weeks prior to the child’s death and they had day-to-day responsibility for the child’s care (unless one of the child’s parents also lived in the household). Note that employees will not be eligible if they were paid to look after the child, except in circumstances where they are paid by a local authority as a foster parent, are reimbursed for expenses incurred caring for the child, or receive payments under the terms of a will or trust.
- They are the partner of the child’s parent, provided they live their partner and the child as part of an enduring family relationship.
If a staff member has a miscarriage or stillbirth before 24 weeks of pregnancy, they are not entitled to statutory parental bereavement leave or pay, nor are they entitled to any statutory maternity leave or pay (see Pregnant staff for more information). They may, of course, be entitled to sick leave and pay while they recover (see Payment during sickness absence for more information about this) and you may also consider allowing them to take further compassionate leave to deal with their grief. Bear in mind that if a miscarriage happens in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, your staff member is still protected under equality law for a further two-week period. This means that you must be careful not to discriminate against them, for example if they take pregnancy-related sickness absence during this time.
How much parental bereavement leave are employees entitled to take?
Eligible employees can choose to take either one or two weeks’ parental bereavement leave. If they choose to take two weeks’ leave, this can be taken consecutively or as two separate weeks of leave. Note that if your employee loses more than one child, they are entitled to two weeks’ leave per child.
Remember that your business may choose to offer additional leave to staff members who have suffered a bereavement over and above the minimum legal requirement. You should ensure that you comply with any relevant bereavement policy that you have in place.
When can parental bereavement leave start and what is the deadline for taking it?
Parental bereavement leave can start at any point on or after the date of the child’s death or stillbirth, but must finish within 56 weeks of that date.
Does my employee need to give me notice of their intention to take parental bereavement leave?
Yes. Your employee must provide you with notice of their intention to take parental bereavement leave and must confirm the following:
- The date of their child’s death
- The date on which they would like their period of leave to start
- Whether they will be taking one or two weeks’ leave
The notice does not need to be provided in writing and can be given informally (eg by text message or email). You cannot require notice to be given in writing, nor can you ask for evidence of your staff member’s entitlement to leave.
How much notice must an employee give me of their intention to take parental bereavement leave?
The amount of notice your employee needs to give you depends on how long ago their child died.
Notice requirements within eight weeks of their child’s death
If your employee intends to take parental bereavement leave within eight weeks of their child’s death, they must provide you with notice before they are due to start work on the day that they want their leave to start. If that is not possible, they must give you notice as soon as it is reasonably practical for them to do so.
Note that if your employee has already started work on the day they give notice to start their bereavement leave, their period of leave will start on the next day.
Notice requirements after the first eight weeks of their child’s death
If your employee intends to start their parental bereavement leave over eight weeks after their child’s death, they must give you notice at least one week before the start of their period of leave.
Employee pay during bereavement leave
See our Q&A here for information on how much employees must be paid while on bereavement leave.
Proposed reforms to bereavement leave under the Employment Rights Bill
Bereavement leave entitlement is being considered for reform as part of the Employment Rights Bill (see our blog explaining the Bill here). The Bill includes an extension to bereavement leave entitlement to include anyone who has been bereaved, and not just parents. What relationship with the deceased will be required in order to qualify for the leave is not yet clear. Any reforms are unlikely to take effect before 2026.
Becca joined Sparqa Legal as a Legal Editor in 2024 after transferring from FromCounsel. She previously worked as a caseworker at Advocate, the bar’s pro bono charity. Becca regularly writes for Sparqa’s blog, covering topics including employment, health and safety, intellectual property, and company law.