Employees will soon be entitled to Bereavement leave

Government consultation on statutory bereavement leave underway

The government recently opened its consultation on the plan to introduce a new statutory right to bereavement leave.

Under the Employment Rights Bill, employees are to be given a new, day one, right to a week’s unpaid bereavement leave to employees who have lost a loved one, including pregnancy loss under 24 weeks.

The consultation is seeking views on practical matters such as:

• Who should be eligible for the right;
• When and how the leave can be taken; 
• How much notice employees should give; and
• What evidence will be required. 

The consultation document says that whilst many employers already provide compassionate leave to employees who have experienced a bereavement, the lack of a statutory framework means that support is inconsistent, with the result that some workers are left vulnerable when they are in most need of help.

The purpose of the consultation is to try and reach the right balance between providing proper support to grieving employees and making sure the mechanisms for exercising the right work effectively for businesses.

Current legal position

The statutory rights currently available to employees who have suffered a bereavement is limited.   Parental bereavement leave and pay is available to employees who lose a child up to the age of 18 and for employees who have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

The entitlement is up to two weeks of paid leave (the pay is subject to statutory limits) and the leave can be taken in two one-week blocks or consecutively within 56 weeks of the bereavement.

The law also provides for the right to take reasonable time off work for dependants.  This right is unpaid and is intended to cover unexpected situations such as emergencies involving a dependant or managing urgent matters following the death of a dependant.   An employee who has time off to care for dependants in such circumstances has the right not to be unfairly treated for taking the time off exercising this right.  An employer also may not refuse reasonable time off in such circumstances. 

Whilst these laws provide a measure of protection to eligible employees, the law does not provide a right for employees to take time off specifically for bereavement or to grieve.  This is a gap that the government intends to fill with this new law.

Eligibility

The consultation document poses various questions such as who should be eligible for bereavement leave.   It asks whether the right to leave should only apply to the loss of family members or whether it should be broader and extend to, for example, close friends.     

In relation to pregnancy loss, it asks whether the leave should only be given to the person who was pregnant or include others such as partners and those in surrogacy arrangements.  Views are also sought on the type of pregnancy loss that should be covered, recognising that it can take many forms, including miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy and IVF embryo transfer loss.

Length of leave and timing

The consultation seeks views on the length of the statutory leave.   The Bill proposes one week of unpaid leave, but the consultation asks whether this should be longer, bearing in mind the need to provide the appropriate support to the employee but also manage the potential impact on the business.

Other questions posed relate to the timing of the leave.  The Bill sets out that employees must be allowed at least 56 days from the date of their loss in which to take the leave.  The consultation asks whether this period should be longer – possibly similar to the length of time given for taking Parental Bereavement Leave.  

Have your say 

The consultation will be open until 15 January 2025, and responses can be given online or by email at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/make-work-pay-leave-for-bereavement-including-pregnancy-loss

Main photo by Daniel Gregoire – Unsplash