A new right to bereavement leave was promised in the Employment Rights Act 2025.
The Government has now published its response to the consultation around this. You can read the full response here.
The firm proposals the Government now proposes to pursue are as follows:
- This will be a day one right for all employees i.e. there will be no requirement to have served a period of service with an employer before the right kicks in.
- The leave will be available to employees who are bereaved across a number of different relationships: spouse, civil partner, partner in a committed long-term relationship whether cohabiting or not, parent, adult child, sibling (in all cases including biological, adopted, step and half) and any equivalent parental relationship arising from kinship or foster care.
- The leave will also be available for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks including termination and IVF embryo loss. The pregnant person qualifies but also their spouse, civil partner, other parent or committed partner, intended co-parents and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements.
- The entitlement will be to two weeks’ leave (which can be broken up provided that each day is at least one day long) and it is unpaid.
- The leave must be taken within 56 weeks of the bereavement or knowledge of it.
- Notice in the first 8 weeks of bereavement need only be given before work starts that day or as soon as reasonably practicable. After 8 weeks one week’s notice may be required.
- No evidence of bereavement is required.
Legislation is a strange thing. One has to wonder what kind of employer would not permit leave for an employee who has been bereaved such that a a new legal requirement is necessary. And for a long-serving employee who is valued would an employer want to think about some level of pay at least? It’s all very delicate.
The new law as set out in brief here has some twists and turns such as the lack of requirement for proof of bereavement. One has to wonder whether this would be the case where the same employee routinely takes bereavement leave? The fact that the right is to unpaid leave perhaps renders moot any further discussion. It could (cynically) be used to supplement leave but if it’s unpaid, is this really likely?
