Policy background
- Although there is an (unpaid) entitlement to time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent, there is currently no specific parental entitlement to time off work (paid or otherwise) following the death of a child. Some employers allow parents to take compassionate leave. This is at the discretion of the employer and there is therefore no minimum standard across the board.
- Employed parents who lose a child from 24 weeks’ gestation or whilst already accessing an existing family related leave and pay right, for example Maternity or Paternity Leave, are entitled to take/remain on that leave for its duration.
- The Act would not change this entitlement but would give employed parents an additional right to time away from work following the death of a child aged under 18.
- It requires Regulations to give employed parents a ‘day 1’ right to a minimum of 2 weeks of leave away from work to help them to come to terms with the loss of a child, should they wish to take it. This means that an employee would be eligible regardless of their length of service with their current employer.
- Employed parents would also be entitled to a statutory flat rate of pay (currently £140.98 a week) or 90% of their average weekly earnings per week (whichever is lower), in respect of the two weeks’ leave, subject to a requirement that the employee has worked for their employer continuously for at least 26 weeks by the end of the week before the week of the child’s death.
- The introduction of a specific, statutory entitlement to parental bereavement leave and pay will set a minimum standard for employees and employers. The intention of the policy is to provide certainty for employed parents and employers in relation to parents’ right to time off from work following the death of a child.
