1. ABOUT THIS POLICY
1.1 This policy sets out the arrangements for parental bereavement leave, which is a type of compassionate leave intended to help employees deal with the death of a child or a stillbirth after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy.
1.2 For compassionate leave in other circumstances please see our Compassionate Leave Policy.
1.3 This policy only applies to employees and does not apply to Umbrella/PEO workers (who are not employees, and may otherwise be called ‘limb (b) workers’), agency workers, or self-employed contractors, save only that Umbrella/PEO workers (who are not employees, and who may otherwise be called limb (b) workers) may be entitled to SPBP, subject to conditions.
1.4 This policy does not form part of any employee’s contract of employment and we may amend it at any time.
2. ENTITLEMENT TO PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
2.1 You may be entitled to parental bereavement leave if your child or a child in your care has died or been stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
2.2 Parental bereavement leave can be one week, two consecutive weeks, or two separate weeks. It can be taken at any time during the first 56 weeks after the child’s death.
2.3 Further unpaid compassionate leave may be available under our Compassionate Leave Policy at our discretion. Please speak to your manager if you require further time off in addition to parental bereavement leave.
3. PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT PAY
3.1 You may qualify for statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP) during parental bereavement leave if:
- (a) you have at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending on the Saturday before the child died; and
- (b) you earn at least the lower earnings limit for class 1 national insurance contributions.
3.2 SPBP is only payable in respect of whole weeks of leave, at the same rate as statutory paternity pay. The rate is set by the government each tax year.
4. LEAVE IN THE FIRST EIGHT WEEKS
4.1 In the first eight weeks after a child has died, there is no need to give advance notice to take parental bereavement leave. Please notify your line manager as soon as you can on the day you want your leave to start, preferably before the time you would normally start work, where possible. Someone can do this on your behalf if necessary.
4.2 If you have already started work, then your parental bereavement leave period will start on the following day. [We would usually allow you to take the rest of the day off as compassionate leave.]
4.3 You can cancel any planned parental bereavement leave in the first eight weeks by telling us at any time before the leave starts, and no later than the time you would normally start work on the first day of the leave period. You cannot cancel leave once it has started.
5. LEAVE AFTER MORE THAN EIGHT WEEKS
5.1 To take parental bereavement leave more than eight weeks after the child has died, please give your line manager at least a week’s written notice.
5.2 Parental bereavement leave can be cancelled with a week’s written notice and can be re-booked by giving a week’s written notice.
6. WRITTEN CONFIRMATION
6.1 We will ask you to confirm the following information in writing within 28 days of starting any period of parental bereavement leave:
- (a) your name;
- (b) the date the child died or was stillborn;
- (c) the dates of paid or unpaid parental bereavement leave taken; and
- (d) your relationship to the child.
