Bereavement Leave

The UK government has announced that April 2020 will see the implementation of new legislation providing two weeks of paid leave for working parents who suffer the loss of a child.

It comes after grieving mother, Lucy Herd, launched a campaign on the issue after her 23-month-old son, Jack, drowned in a pond in 2010 and his father returned to work just three days after his death. The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations, known as ‘Jacks Law’ in memory of Jack Herd, will implement a right to at least two weeks’ leave if a working parent loses a child under the age of 18, or suffers a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. The policy will be applied irrespective of how long an individual has been employed by an organisation; parents employed in a job for six months or more will be paid statutory pay for this period of leave.

This will make a huge difference to bereaved parents across the country, whose lives have been shattered by the death of a child. Losing a child is every parent’s worst fear, but no one could ever fully understand the utter devastation of such a loss. Whilst most employers are compassionate and generous in these situations, some are not. This change will help reduce a potential source of additional stress, and paid leave will give parents time to make decisions based on need rather than financial situation.

Have you considered whether you will pay full pay in this wretched situation or will you just pay statutory pay? Have you re-drafted your Bereavement and Compassion Leave Policy and Procedure ready for April 2020? How will you be communicating the change to your employees.