New allowance for bereaved parents - bereavement leave
The right to take up to two weeks’ paid leave (bereavement leave) after the death of a child is expected to become law in 2020 – this will be one of the most generous in the world.
The Parental Bereavement Bill, which was first introduced to parliament in July, is scheduled to have its second reading on 20 October – this will create a right for parents to take two weeks of time off in the event of the death of a child under 18.
The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill, which was introduced by Kevin Hollinrake MP and supported by the Government, will give a day-one right to parental bereavement leave and employees with a minimum of 26 weeks’ continuous service will be eligible for statutory parental bereavement pay. Small businesses will be able to recover all pay from the Government while large businesses will be able to reclaim most of it – however, the bill does not currently state what rate of pay will apply.
Currently, the law does not specifically provide any right to time off following the death of a child, although the Employment Rights Act 1996 allows employees to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant.
A recent survey run on behalf of Child Bereavement UK disclosed that almost a third of employees who had experienced a bereavement in the last five years felt they were not treated with compassion and consideration by their employer.
