Compassionate Bereavement Leave Policy

Employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of time off work to take necessary action in relation to the care of certain dependants. This Compassionate Leave Policy (also often referred to as Bereavement Leave Policy) gives employers the option to offer additional leave, paid or unpaid, to deal with serious illness, injury or death in an employee’s immediate family. There is no contractual right to payment for compassionate/bereavement leave, apart from in the case of employees who are the parents of a child who dies or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy. This is called parental bereavement leave and eligible workers/employees are entitled to two weeks’ leave, paid at a statutory minimum rate. 

Employers should be mindful of the varying needs of different religions and their bereavement requirements to avoid potential indirect discrimination claims on the grounds of religion and belief.

Optional phrases / clauses are enclosed in square brackets. These should be read carefully and selected so as to be compatible with one another. Unused options should be removed from the document.

This Compassionate Leave Policy is in open format. Either enter the requisite details in the highlighted fields or adjust the wording to suit your purposes.

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Compassionate Bereavement Leave Policy is part of Employment Documents. Just £35.00 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment Documents for 1 year.