Compassionate Leave
Introduce Compassionate Leave for all Workers
Bereavement leave is currently only available to parents following the death of a child under the age of 18. The intention is to extend the existing legislation and make Compassionate Leave a day one right for all workers.
This page was first published on 21 August 2024, the latest update was on 5 July 2025.
The Current Entitlement
Since April 2024 legislation has entitled parents of a child under 18 that dies to take 2 weeks of paid bereavement leave.
Proposed Changes
The intention is to extend the existing (parental bereavement leave and pay) legislation to make compassionate leave a day one right for all.
The Bill refers to a qualifying relationship between the employee and the person who has died. This is not defined as yet but is likely to mirror the relationship requirements used in the Time of For Dependents and Carers Leave Acts.
The regulations will also set out the length of leave, which must be a minimum of one week (it will remain two weeks where a child under the age of 18 has died) and that the period of time that the leave must be taken in must extend to at least 56 days after the person’s death.
It is expected that bereavement leave will have a statutory pay element attached to it, but we don’t know yet what this will look like.
Fact Sheet
The Government have published a Fact Sheet detailing their intentions in this area.
Implementation Of The New Right To Bereavement Leave
The Employment Rights Bill Delivery Roadmap states the new statutory right to bereavement leave will be introduced in 2027, with consultation expected in autumn 2025.
Miscarriage Bereavement Leave
A new provision for leave after miscarriage looks likely to be introduced. This amendment is actually put forward by Labour MP Sarah Owen, but press reports indicate that it is being backed by the government. Mothers and their partners will be given the right to two weeks of bereavement leave if they have suffered a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Top Tips
This could have significant impact on employers who limit compassionate leave to unpaid leave. Many of my clients offer one or two days to deal with the initial shock and the funeral and up to five days if the employee is arranging the funeral. But for most of those the official message is leave is unpaid and then they apply discretion depending on the length of service of the employee and the relationship with the deceased. A jump to one week of paid leave per situation is a big jump, especially for something which could be easily open to abuse.
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