Bereavement leave: an employer’s guide

9 May 2025

Trying to work shortly after a bereavement can be extremely challenging. Along with their own grief, employees may have to contend with funeral arrangements, formalities imposed by a coroner, and supporting family or friends. Some faiths have specific rituals and mourning periods following the death or funeral that require an employee to take time off work.

Many businesses offer bereavement leave but, at the moment, there is no general legal entitlement to time off work for someone who has experienced a bereavement. Instead, there is a patchwork of provisions that apply to employees in relation to their children and their other dependants. This situation is expected to change in 2026 with the introduction of a general right to bereavement leave.

An employee is protected from being treated less favourably if they exercise statutory rights to time off. There is also a risk that an employer may be liable to a discrimination claim arising from an employee’s request for leave if it relates to religion or pregnancy.

In this article, we outline the current employee entitlements, some proposed changes to the law, and some policy considerations for employers.

Time off following the death of a dependant

The statutory right to time off for dependants gives employees a right to take unpaid leave in specific emergencies involving a dependant, including in the case that the dependant dies. Dependants in this context include a spouse or civil partner, a child, a parent, or anyone who lives in the same household as the employee (but not including their lodgers, boarders, employees or tenants). There is no specific amount of time that can be taken off; instead, the employee may take a ‘reasonable’ amount of time off for necessary actions arising from the death, such as registering the death. This type of leave is restricted to ‘necessary’ actions and usually lasts for a few days at most. Employees have a right to this form of leave from the first day of their employment.

Time off following the loss of a child or baby

Statutory parental bereavement leave gives parents, including adopters and foster parents, the right to take two weeks’ leave following the death of a child aged under 18, including a stillbirth if it takes place after 24 weeks’ pregnancy. Employees have this right from the first day of employment. If the employee has worked for the employer for at least 26 weeks and their weekly pay is equivalent to at least the statutory lower earnings limit (£125 per week for 2025/26), they must receive statutory parental bereavement leave pay (£187.18 per week or 90% of normal weekly pay, whichever is lower). Otherwise, the leave is unpaid unless the employer chooses to pay them.

Parents can also continue to take other forms of statutory leave in certain circumstances.

Parents of babies born on or after 6 April 2025 who receive neonatal care (including palliative care) for at least seven days following admission, starting at any point in the first 28 days of life, are entitled to take one week of statutory neonatal care leave in respect of each week (or part of a week) that the baby is in neonatal care, up to a maximum leave entitlement of 12 weeks. The leave must be taken within 68 weeks of the baby’s birth. If the baby dies once the parents have become entitled to neonatal care leave, the parents can still take the leave. The definition of parents includes adopting parents and intending parents in the case of surrogacy. For parents who meet the eligibility criteria, the leave will be paid. The rate of pay and the eligibility criteria are the same as for statutory parental bereavement leave.

An employee who has a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or whose baby dies after birth, remains entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave and, if eligible, maternity pay. The entitlement to paternity leave also applies.

Currently, there is no legal right to time off work following a miscarriage during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, other than the rights relating to sickness absence.

Using annual leave following a bereavement

Bereaved employees may request to take annual leave if they do not have a legal entitlement to other forms of leave, or if they have already exhausted those entitlements. However, the purpose of annual leave is rest and recuperation. As a matter of good practice, an employer may wish to discuss alternatives with an employee who is considering using annual leave in this way, so that the annual leave entitlement can be saved for its intended purpose. One possible alternative is to agree to paid or unpaid compassionate leave.

Proposals to expand bereavement rights

A new right to bereavement leave has been tabled by the Government in the Employment Rights Bill 2024. Under the current proposal, all employees would gain the right to one week’s unpaid leave following a bereavement. The scope of the right will be restricted to bereavements within certain relationships, but these have not yet been specified. The Government is expected to consult on the detail this year, with the new right being introduced in 2026 at the earliest.

Some employers already have a policy extending parental bereavement leave rights to employees who suffer pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. In January 2025, a select committee of the House of Commons published a report recommending that provisions should be added to the Employment Rights Bill to enact such rights in law. The Government responded by stating that it accepted ‘the principle’ of this proposal, but did not make any commitment beyond holding further discussions on the subject. At the time of writing, this proposal has not been drafted into the Bill.

Should we offer bereavement leave?

On compassionate grounds, employers may wish to offer bereavement leave to employees who are not legally entitled to it or to offer a more generous provision than the legal minimum. To do so is likely to encourage employee loyalty and improve morale. Bereaved employees may find it difficult to work effectively or consistently, and may also struggle to realistically appraise their readiness to work shortly after a bereavement. It may therefore be better for both the individual and the business if a policy of taking time off work is in place.

How we can help

We can provide policies that set out your organisation’s approach to bereavement leave. A well-drafted policy will reassure employees and help line managers to act with greater consistency.

Although you may wish to offer bereavement leave beyond the legal entitlement, allowing employees time off, particularly on short notice, can be disruptive or result in complaints of inconsistency. We can advise you on responding to specific requests, as these could result in claims for religion- or pregnancy-related discrimination. We can also advise you on the detail of statutory leave rights to help you stay on the right side of the law.

For further information, please contact the team at Synchrony Law.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.