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Bereavement

[Policy]

Further information on bereavement support services

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Time off following a family bereavement

No statutory right

Whilst a general statutory right to bereavement leave - which is sometimes called compassionate leave - has been mooted over the years by various administrations, it has never made it onto the statute books.

As such, when an employee loses an adult relative, they have no specific statutory right to take any time off work to grieve and come to terms with their bereavement.

Dependant’s leave

Employees do, however, have a statutory right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off work to deal with certain unexpected emergencies that involve their dependants.

Dependant’s leave can be used to deal with matters arising from the death of an adult relative, such as registering the death, arranging and attending the funeral.

Who is a dependant?

The law defines a dependant as: a spouse, a civil partner, a child, a parent, a person who lives in the same household as the employee who is not a tenant, lodger or boarder, e.g. a cohabiting partner. A dependant can also be someone who relies on the employee for care or help, e.g. a grandparent or other adult relative.

As employees have no general statutory right to take bereavement or compassionate leave, it’s for you to decide how you will manage these potentially sensitive situations and what time off you will grant them.

At your discretion

Most employers do offer their employees some time off following a close family bereavement - it’s up to you how much and whether this leave is going to be paid or unpaid - but it’s important to remember that every situation is different.

Some employees may prefer to be at work rather than alone following a close death, whereas others may need an extended period of time off work to cope with their bereavement, particularly where the death was sudden and unexpected.

Bereavement policy

As a matter of good practice, you should set your own rules out in a bereavement policy (see The next step ). As a minimum, your bereavement policy should state:

• how many days’ bereavement leave you will grant an employee following the death of an immediate family member and a wider family member - these can be different
• if the granted bereavement leave will be paid or unpaid, or a mixture of the two
• whether this bereavement leave is in addition to or includes any time off taken as statutory dependant’s leave; and
• line manager’s responsibilities when notified of an employee’s bereavement.

Tip. To help support your employees, you can signpost them to external services which are able to assist those experiencing loss and bereavement (see The next step ).

For a bereavement policy and further information on bereavement support services, visit https://tips-and-advice.co.uk , Download Zone, year 25, issue 10.