What to include in a breavement leave policy

Headnote

The death of a family member or close friend will probably happen to most employees during their working lives, so it is essential for employers to have a sound bereavement leave policy. Burges Salmon's Akshay Choudhry considers best practice on how to support grieving workers.

The trauma of bereavement can last for many months or years, but, despite the inevitability of this occurrence, many employers have inadequate methods in place for supporting employees through difficult times.

According to the National Council for Palliative Care, 87% of people think their employer should have a compassionate leave policy that includes paid bereavement leave, while 56% would consider leaving their job if they felt that their employer did not adequately support them during a time of loss. The same survey revealed that almost one-third of employees who had suffered a bereavement in the previous five years felt that they had not been treated compassionately by their employer. So, given the potentially damaging employee-relations and employee-retention consequences of getting it wrong, and knowing that the issue is intrinsically delicate, what should employers do when an employee loses a loved one?

Bereavement at work: the law

Perhaps surprisingly, at a time when family-related leave is increasingly regulated, employees' legal entitlements are relatively limited when it comes to time off following a bereavement.

Employees are entitled to reasonable time off if necessary when a dependant passes away. What is "reasonable" is not defined, but, crucially, the time off is to allow the employee to take action that is "necessary" in consequence of the death. According to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Forster v Cartwright Black Solicitors [2004], this could mean dealing with logistical matters such as arranging and attending a funeral, or applying for probate. Dealing with grief is not, according to the EAT, "necessary". Furthermore, the right is to unpaid time off only and "dependant" is narrowly defined, restricting the right to the death of a spouse, partner, child, parent or someone living in the same household as the employee.

In most circumstances, employers are not compelled to do any more to accommodate bereaved employees. The law in this area, it seems, is not very compassionate.

Acas guide

The Acas guide on managing bereavement in the workplace...