New model parental bereavement leave policy finalised
Parliament has approved the legislation that gives the parents of a child who dies on or after 6 April 2020 the right to up to two weeks' parental bereavement leave. We provide a model policy and supporting forms and letters on this new right.
Further resources
Task: Prepare for the introduction of parental bereavement leave
- New parental bereavement leave policy
- Policy on supporting bereaved employees (updated with new section on parental bereavement leave)
- New form to record that an employee is taking parental bereavement leave
- New letter to an employee confirming that they are taking parental bereavement leave
- New form for an employee to provide notice and evidence of entitlement to parental bereavement pay
- New letter explaining to managers the introduction of parental bereavement leave
A key challenge for HR when drafting their parental bereavement leave policy and accompanying documents is to achieve a balance between complying with the parental bereavement leave legislation and being sympathetic to the plight of a bereaved parent.
Employers will be relieved to learn that the notice and evidence requirements for taking parental bereavement leave are light.
Did you know...?
The legislation has been dubbed "Jack's Law", so you may hear HR colleagues, line managers and employees refer to parental bereavement leave in this way.
This is in memory of Jack Herd, who died aged 23 months in 2010. Jack's mother Lucy Herd was a key campaigner for the introduction of a statutory right to parental bereavement leave.
An employee's notification to take the leave does not have to be in writing, which means that line managers and HR professionals should accept informal notification, such as a phone call or email, as sufficient to take parental bereavement leave. In addition, bereaved parents do not have to provide any evidence of the death of their child.
However, the bad news for employers is that the notice and evidence requirements are more onerous for statutory parental bereavement pay.
Employees taking parental bereavement leave must give their employer notice of the weeks during which they wish to claim statutory parental bereavement pay. The employer has the option of asking for the statutory parental bereavement pay notice to be provided in writing.
At the same time as the employee gives notice, they must provide evidence of entitlement to statutory parental bereavement pay, including a declaration in writing that they have a relationship with the deceased child that entitles them to statutory parental bereavement pay.
