What is Parental Bereavement Leave in England?

Parental bereavement leave is where your employees take time away from work following the death of a child or a stillborn. If one of your staff finds themselves in this situation, there are some legal and personal considerations to note. Your employee will no doubt need you to act sensitively. Being able to grant and effectively deal with their parental bereavement leave quickly will assist this. This article will explain parental bereavement leave in England. 

What is Parental Bereavement Leave?

Parental bereavement leave is when your employee takes time off to grieve the death of their child. It applies to both parents rather than one. Your employees can take time this off work for:

• a child who dies under the age of 18;
• a stillborn baby after a pregnancy of 24 weeks; and 
• an abortion after 24 weeks which is usually when your employee’s or their child’s life is at risk.

Your staff members may qualify for parental bereavement leave from the first day they start employment with you. Likewise, they must be:

• the birth parent of a child;
• the natural parent who still has court access to a child who is adopted;
• adoptive parents where the child lived with them;
• a person with responsibility for the child for a minimum of four weeks before the death;
• the ‘intended parents’, for example, where a couple use a surrogate mother and were due to be the legal parents; or
• a partner to the parent of the child they are living with and had a family relationship with the child.

Upon returning to work, your staff’s terms and conditions should not change except in terms of remuneration. They should also expect to return to the job role.

When Can an Employee Take Parental Bereavement Leave 

Statutory parental bereavement leave is two weeks away from work. Where more than one of their children has died, your employee is entitled to two weeks per child. Likewise, your employee can take leave anytime up to 56 weeks after the death of their child.

If your employee needs to take statutory parental bereavement leave, they can take either one week or the full two weeks. If they choose the latter, they can take the two weeks consecutively or one week at a time on two occasions. Regardless, your employee must give you notice of this, which does not need to be in writing. They should tell you:

• when they wish to take it;
• the amount they want to take; and
• when their child died.

The amount of notice will depend on how long ago their child died. If they wish to take it before the 56 days:

• they can take leave as soon as they give you the information;
• the notice can be on the same day they want to start their leave;
• they can cancel the leave and take it later as long as they cancel before it starts; and
• cancellation can be on the same as the leave would have started.

However, if your employee wants to take leave after the 56 days, they must give you one week’s notice before they wish to take it, and the same if they want to cancel it. Again, cancelled leave can be taken at a later date.

What is Parental Bereavement Pay?

Statutory parental bereavement pay is a legal entitlement for employees and workers who qualify for it. It is the minimum amount you must pay them for their leave and is the lowest amount out of the following:

• £156.66 per week; or
• 90% of their average earnings per week.

Statutory parental bereavement pay lasts for two weeks, and your employee must take this up to 28 days of their leave starting. It applies where:

• their child under the age of 18 has died, or they have had a stillborn child any time after 24 weeks of pregnancy;
• when the death occurred, you employed them and had done for at least 26 weeks the Saturday before it happened; and 
• their average wage is at least £123 per week before tax is deducted.

Your staff must notify you of their intention to claim this pay within 28 days of starting their leave. When they take their two weeks’ leave in two separate periods, they must give notice each time and in writing.

Key Takeaways

Where your staff qualify for statutory parental bereavement leave or statutory parental bereavement pay, you are obliged to give it to them. If you need help understanding the different kinds of statutory leave in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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