Compassionate and Bereavement Leave in the UK: Employer's Guide

When an employee is dealing with the death of a loved one, the last thing anyone wants to be doing is arguing about leave entitlements. Yet many UK employers are unsure about their legal obligations around compassionate and bereavement leave — and this uncertainty can lead to inconsistent treatment, employee resentment, and even tribunal claims.

The legal landscape is more nuanced than most people realise. There is a statutory right to time off for dependants, a specific paid bereavement entitlement for parents who lose a child, but no general statutory right to paid compassionate leave. Most employers fill the gap with a discretionary policy, but the quality and generosity of those policies varies enormously.

This guide sets out the legal framework, explains best practice, and provides the building blocks for a compassionate leave policy that treats employees with dignity while protecting the organisation.

The Legal Framework: What the Law Actually Requires

Time Off for Dependants (Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 57A)

All employees have a statutory right to take a reasonable amount of time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant. This is set out in Section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Key features of this right:

It is unpaid — the law does not require the employer to pay the employee for this time off, although many employers choose to do so.
It covers emergencies — the right applies when a dependant dies, falls ill, is injured, is assaulted, gives birth, or when arrangements for the care of a dependant break down unexpectedly.
“Reasonable” is not defined — the legislation deliberately avoids specifying a number of days. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances. For a bereavement, one to two days might cover making immediate arrangements; attending a funeral might require an additional day.
It applies from day one — there is no qualifying period. An employee is entitled to this time off from their first day of employment.
The employee must inform the employer as soon as reasonably practicable about the reason for the absence and how long they expect to be off.

Who Counts as a Dependant?

Under Section 57A, a dependant is:

The employee’s spouse or civil partner
The employee’s child (including adopted children)
The employee’s parent
A person who lives in the same household as the employee (but not a tenant, lodger, boarder, or employee living in)
A person who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance when ill or injured, or to make arrangements for care

This last category is broad. It could include an elderly neighbour the employee regularly cares for, an unmarried partner, or a close friend who depends on the employee. The definition is wider than many employers realise.

Jack’s Law: Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay

The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018, commonly known as Jack’s Law (named after Jack Herd, whose mother campaigned for the legislation), came into force on 6 April 2020. It provides:

Two weeks of leave for employees who lose a child under the age of 18, or who suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The leave can be taken as a single block of two weeks or as two separate blocks of one week within 56 weeks of the child’s death.
Employees with at least 26 weeks of continuous service and earnings above the lower earnings limit are entitled to Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP), currently paid at the same rate as other statutory payments (£184.03 per week in 2025/26, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower).
Employees with less than 26 weeks’ service are still entitled to the two weeks of unpaid leave.
The right is available from day one of employment for the leave itself.
It applies to parents, adopters, intended parents in surrogacy arrangements, and certain foster carers.

Jack’s Law is the only bereavement-specific statutory leave entitlement in the UK.

No General Statutory Right to Paid Compassionate Leave

Beyond time off for dependants and Jack’s Law, there is no general statutory right to paid compassionate leave in the UK. If an employee’s parent, sibling, spouse, or friend dies, the employer is not legally required to provide paid time off specifically for bereavement.

In practice, most employers recognise that expecting a bereaved employee to work (or to use their annual leave) immediately after a death is both cruel and counterproductive. This is why the vast majority of UK employers offer some form of compassionate leave policy — even though the law does not require it.

What Typical Employer Policies Look Like

Research from CIPD and various HR surveys indicates that most UK employers offer between three and five days of paid compassionate leave for the death of a close family member. However, policies vary widely:

Generous policies: Some employers offer up to two weeks paid for the death of a spouse, partner, child, or parent, with shorter periods for extended family.
Standard policies: The most common approach is three to five days paid for immediate family (spouse, partner, child, parent, sibling), with one to two days for extended family (grandparent, in-law, close friend).
Minimal policies: Some employers offer the bare statutory minimum (unpaid time off for dependants) and expect employees to use annual leave for anything beyond that.
Tiered policies: Many organisations differentiate by relationship — more days for closer relatives, fewer for extended family or friends.

There is no “right” answer, but employers who offer generous compassionate leave consistently report higher employee loyalty, lower turnover, and fewer long-term sickness absences related to grief.

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Pregnancy Loss and Neonatal Provisions

The law has evolved significantly in this area:

Pregnancy Loss Before 24 Weeks

If an employee experiences a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy, there is currently no specific statutory leave entitlement. The employee may be signed off sick by their GP, and normal sick leave and pay rules would apply. Some employers have introduced specific pregnancy loss leave policies — typically offering one to two weeks of paid leave — and this is increasingly recognised as best practice.

The Miscarriage Leave Bill has been the subject of parliamentary debate, and pressure for legislative change continues. Regardless of where the law stands, offering specific support for pregnancy loss is a mark of a compassionate employer.

Stillbirth After 24 Weeks

A stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy is treated as a birth for statutory purposes. The mother is entitled to full maternity leave and pay. The partner is entitled to paternity leave and pay, and both parents are entitled to parental bereavement leave under Jack’s Law.

Neonatal Care Leave

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 introduced a right to up to 12 weeks of paid neonatal care leave for parents whose baby requires neonatal care for seven or more consecutive days. While this is not bereavement leave, it addresses a closely related area of parental distress and is worth noting in any comprehensive leave policy.

How to Handle Bereavement Requests Sensitively

The way an employer responds to a bereavement can define the employee’s relationship with the organisation for years to come. Here are practical guidelines:

1. Respond Immediately With Empathy

When an employee reports a bereavement, the first response should be human, not procedural. Express condolences before discussing logistics. A simple “I’m very sorry for your loss — please don’t worry about anything here” goes further than any policy document.

2. Do Not Interrogate the Relationship

Avoid asking intrusive questions about the employee’s relationship with the deceased, particularly in the immediate aftermath. If your policy distinguishes between relationship categories, handle the classification sensitively and after the initial shock has passed.

3. Be Flexible on Timing

Grief does not follow a schedule. The funeral might not be for two weeks. The employee might feel able to work for a few days and then need time off later. Wherever possible, allow flexibility in when compassionate leave is taken.

4. Offer Practical Support

Beyond the leave itself, consider:

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) referral for counselling
Flexible working arrangements for a period after the return
Phased return if the employee has been off for an extended period
A named contact so the employee does not have to explain their situation to multiple people

5. Follow Up After the Return

A bereaved employee who returns to work is not “over it.” Check in periodically. Be alert to signs of prolonged grief that might benefit from professional support.

Cultural Considerations

The UK workforce is culturally diverse, and bereavement practices vary significantly across cultures and religions:

Muslim employees may need to attend burial within 24 hours of death, as Islamic tradition requires prompt burial.
Hindu employees may need time for cremation ceremonies, which traditionally happen within 24 hours to three days.
Jewish employees observe Shiva, a seven-day mourning period, during which they may not work.
Sikh employees may need to attend a Bhog ceremony held within 10 days of death.
Chinese and East Asian employees may observe mourning periods of varying lengths.
Some cultures have obligations around annual anniversary commemorations that may require a day off.

A good compassionate leave policy is flexible enough to accommodate these different practices. This does not necessarily mean offering unlimited paid leave, but it does mean being willing to supplement paid compassionate leave with unpaid leave, annual leave, or flexible working as needed.

Model Compassionate Leave Policy: Key Elements

Here is a framework for building your own policy:

Scope and Eligibility

State that the policy applies to all employees from day one. Include a definition of compassionate leave and confirm it is separate from annual leave, sick leave, and TOIL.

Paid Leave Entitlement by Relationship

Consider a tiered structure:

Spouse, civil partner, cohabiting partner, child, or parent: Up to five days paid compassionate leave.
Sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-law: Up to three days paid compassionate leave.
Close friend, aunt, uncle, cousin, or other significant person: Up to two days paid compassionate leave.
Additional unpaid leave of up to five further days may be granted at management discretion.

Parental Bereavement

Reference the statutory entitlement under Jack’s Law (two weeks) and confirm the organisation’s approach to Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay. Consider whether to enhance the statutory pay to full pay.

Pregnancy Loss

State the organisation’s position on pregnancy loss leave. Best practice is to offer a specific entitlement (e.g., two weeks paid leave) rather than expecting employees to rely on sick leave.

How to Request Compassionate Leave

Keep this as simple as possible. In the immediate aftermath of a bereavement, the employee should contact their line manager (or another manager if the line manager is unavailable) by any means — phone, text, email, or message through a colleague. Formal paperwork can wait.

Manager Discretion

Include a clause allowing managers to extend the paid or unpaid leave period in exceptional circumstances. Grief is unpredictable, and rigid limits can cause more harm than they prevent.

Returning to Work

Outline the options available to returning employees: phased return, temporary adjustments to duties, EAP referral, and ongoing check-ins.

Record-Keeping

Confirm that compassionate leave will be recorded separately from other leave types and that the details will be treated confidentially.

Common Employer Mistakes

Treating compassionate leave as annual leave. Forcing employees to use holiday for bereavement is legal (unless the policy says otherwise) but profoundly damaging to morale and the employment relationship.

Applying the policy inconsistently. If one employee gets five days paid for a parent’s death and another gets two days for the same circumstance, you have a potential discrimination claim and a definite morale problem.

No written policy. Without a documented policy, every bereavement becomes an ad hoc negotiation. This creates inconsistency and puts managers in an uncomfortable position.

Ignoring mental health. Bereavement is one of the leading triggers for mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. Employers who treat compassionate leave as purely an administrative matter miss the wider wellbeing dimension.

Not covering pregnancy loss. The absence of a specific pregnancy loss policy can leave employees feeling unsupported during one of the most distressing experiences imaginable.

How Leave Balance Helps You Manage Compassionate Leave

Compassionate leave is deeply personal, but the administration behind it still needs to be accurate, consistent, and confidential. Leave Balance lets you configure compassionate leave as a separate leave type with its own rules, entitlements, and approval workflows.

You can set different entitlements by relationship category, track usage separately from annual leave, and maintain the confidential records that sensitive leave types require. Managers can approve requests through Slack or Microsoft Teams in seconds, and employees are spared the indignity of filling out lengthy forms during their worst moments.

With custom policies per region and unlimited leave types, Leave Balance handles the complexity so your managers can focus on what matters — supporting their team members through difficult times.

At $10/month flat for unlimited employees, there is no cost barrier to getting this right.