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From 2020 employees who suffer the death of child will become entitled to two weeks paid leave.

The new right is outlined in the Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill. The Bill is in the nature of enabling legislation because it leaves much of the detail to be specified in future regulations, e.g. notice, protections from dismissal and detriment, and what happens during redundancy. It looks very much as if the right will mirror the current right to two weeks’ paternity leave.

What we know now is that this will be a Day 1 right - for leave purposes - but that to qualify for the pay element, employees will need a minimum of 26 weeks’ continuous service (and be earning more than the lower earnings limit). The level of payment hasn’t been set but the explanatory notes to the Bill indicate that this will be the statutory flat rate used for similar types of leave such as paternity/maternity (currently £140.98 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower). Any contractual pay paid to an employee during the period in which they’re entitled to statutory bereavement pay can be offset against the liability to pay statutory bereavement pay.

Employers will be able to recover statutory bereavement pay from HMRC. Large firms with annual National Insurance contributions of over £45,000 would be entitled to recover 92% of money paid; all other employers would be entitled to recover 103%.

A child is defined as a person under the age of 18. Bereavement leave will have to be taken before the end of a period of 56 days starting with the child’s death. If more than one child dies, the parent will be entitled to leave in respect of each child (i.e. the period of leave would multiply). Parents will be able to split the leave period such that two week-long periods of leave may be taken separately.

There is currently no legal obligation to provide paid time off for grieving parents, although many employers do so. The Employment Rights Act does give employees a Day 1 right to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of unpaid time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant, which could include making arrangements following the death of a dependant.

ACAS publishes a good practice guide to bereavement at work.