The government has confirmed it will extend “day one” employee bereavement and pregnancy loss rights from next April.
The changes will give more people a legal right to take time off work after suffering a bereavement or pregnancy loss in another shake-up to employment rights.
Employees who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling will be entitled to take two weeks unpaid leave, calculated according to their normal working pattern. These will be statutory day one rights, applicable from the first day of employment, and extend to cover step and half relatives, as well as foster, kinship care and adoptive relationships.
Previously, only parents who had suffered the loss of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy had a legal right to bereavement leave.
The government confirmed that women and their partners who experience any type of pregnancy loss including miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers would also be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid leave. Other biological parents, partners - both co-habiting and not co-habiting - and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement will also now be entitled to pregnancy loss leave.
Employees affected by a stillbirth after 24 weeks may also qualify for statutory maternity, paternity or shared parental leave and pay.
The government says the aim of the new entitlements is to ensure employees have a protected period away from work during some of life's most difficult circumstances, while also providing employers with a clearer framework for supporting staff.
In its response to a 12-week consultation, the government said that leave will be able to be taken within 56 weeks of the bereavement and in discontinuous, single days. The leave period will typically start from the date of death or pregnancy loss.
Employees may also be entitled to time off for dependants to deal with practical matters following a death, but this will not provide a right to take time off specifically to grieve. Bereaved employees may be entitled to statutory sick pay if their health is impacted by bereavement.
The government has also confirmed that notice requirements will be deliberately light-touch. Employees can provide notice to employers “as soon as reasonably practicable”. This may be the same day if taken within the first eight weeks of bereavement, or one week’s notice thereafter. Significantly, there will be no requirement for employees to provide evidence in order to take the leave.
The statutory scheme will provide unpaid leave, although employers will remain free to enhance the entitlement by offering paid bereavement leave should they wish to do so.
The government has sought to strike a balance between providing employees with a meaningful right to time away from work following a bereavement and limiting the burden on employers.
Many employers already provide paid compassionate leave. However, the new statutory regime will establish a minimum level of protection across the workforce and employers should review their bereavement, family leave and absence policies to ensure they are ready for the changes to ensure full alignment with the new framework.