An employee phones to say that someone close to them has died. The manager does not need a perfect script, but they do need to separate the immediate legal right, any parental-bereavement entitlement and the organisation's own compassionate-leave offer. A calm first response can give the employee certainty without promising the wrong pay or forcing a sensitive situation through an ordinary holiday process.
Start with the relationship and the immediate need
An employee has a statutory right to a reasonable amount of time off to take necessary action because a dependant has died. A dependant can include a spouse, civil partner, partner, child or parent, someone who lives in the employee's household other than a tenant, lodger or employee, and in some circumstances a person who relies on them.
The right is designed for the immediate consequences of the death. It can cover arranging or attending a dependant's funeral, but it is not an automatic open-ended period for grieving. What is reasonable depends on the facts. The law does not set a fixed number of days, and the statutory time is not automatically paid. Check the contract and policy before confirming pay.
If the person who died was not a dependant, there is currently no general statutory right to bereavement leave in Great Britain. That does not prevent an employer from granting paid or unpaid compassionate leave. A close friend, former carer or extended family member may be central to the employee's life even though the statutory definition does not apply.
Acas: time off work for bereavement ↗ · GOV.UK: time off for dependants ↗
Use parental bereavement leave as a separate route
If an employee's child dies before turning 18, or there is a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, qualifying parents have a day-one right to two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave for each child. The employee can take two weeks together, two separate weeks or only one week, and the leave must finish within 56 weeks of the death or stillbirth.
Leave and statutory pay are separate tests. An employee can qualify for leave but not Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay. For 2026 to 2027, eligible employees receive £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. Apply the current GOV.UK eligibility, notice and evidence rules rather than treating the company policy as the statutory test.
Do not demand unnecessary evidence of the death for the leave itself. Evidence and a written declaration are relevant to the statutory pay process. Keep the conversation private, record only what payroll and leave administration require, and remember that employment rights such as holiday accrual and the right to return are protected during the leave.
GOV.UK: employer guide to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay ↗
Do not treat a future change as current law
The Employment Rights Act 2025 creates a framework for a wider statutory bereavement-leave entitlement, including at least one week where the leave is not for the death of a child. However, the relevant parts brought into force on 6 January 2026 were commenced for the purpose of making regulations. As at 10 October 2026, employers should not describe that wider entitlement as a live general right.
Existing rights continue to apply: time off for dependants, Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay, any contractual or policy-based compassionate leave, and other relevant family-leave routes. Monitor the regulations and commencement position, but do not rewrite current decisions around a proposal that has not yet taken effect.
Employment Rights Act 2025, section 18 ↗ · 2026 commencement regulations ↗
Make the policy clear enough for a difficult day
A useful policy says who qualifies for company bereavement or compassionate leave, how much paid and unpaid time is available, how employees should make contact, and who can approve an exception. It should also explain how statutory rights interact with the enhanced offer so managers do not accidentally deduct a day-one entitlement from a more generous company allowance.
Avoid a narrow list that assumes every family looks the same. State how the business will consider step-relations, chosen family, cultural and religious practices, overseas travel, pregnancy loss and a funeral or ceremony held later. Manager discretion can help, but set factors to guide it and record the reason for the decision so similar situations are handled consistently.
Do not automatically insist on a death certificate, funeral notice or proof of relationship. Ask only for information needed to decide the leave and pay route. Excessive evidence requests can damage trust, particularly in the first hours after a death.
Set the leave, pay and discretion rules before they are needed.
HR + SAFETY can help North East SMEs build a bereavement policy and manager process that separates statutory rights from the support the business chooses to offer.
Discuss a bereavement policy reviewHandle the first conversation without over-managing grief
Acknowledge the death, establish what the employee needs immediately and agree how and when contact will happen. Ask who may be told at work, whether anything urgent needs handing over and which contact method is least intrusive. Confirm the initial leave and pay position in writing, while allowing it to be reviewed when arrangements become clearer.
Do not set a timetable for how the employee should feel or require them to discuss personal details. Grief is not linear. Some people want structure and contact; others need space. A short agreed check-in is better than repeated messages from several managers.
Be alert to equality issues. Refusing time for a religious mourning practice could create discrimination risk. Grief itself is not a protected characteristic, but a resulting mental or physical health condition may meet the Equality Act definition of disability, which can trigger the duty to consider reasonable adjustments.
Plan a supported return rather than a one-day reset
Before the return, agree what colleagues may know, whether the employee wants the death acknowledged and what work is realistic. Temporary flexibility might include a phased return, shorter days, different start times, lighter duties, fewer public-facing tasks or time for appointments and administration.
For a North East SME with a small team, cover may be difficult, but a rushed full workload can prolong absence or create avoidable errors. Set a review date and make temporary measures explicit. If health symptoms are affecting work, discuss medical advice, occupational health or a fit note without treating normal grief as misconduct or poor performance.
Keep records proportionate: the leave category and dates, pay decision, statutory-pay evidence where required, agreed contact and any temporary work measures. Restrict access to sensitive details and avoid turning a compassionate conversation into an unnecessary narrative in the personnel file.
Related guide: fit notes at work → · Related guide: employee record retention →
Bereavement leave checklist for employers
Legal requirements and official guidance were checked on 10 October 2026. The wider bereavement-leave framework in the Employment Rights Act 2025 is not presented here as a current general entitlement because further regulations and commencement are still required.
- Confirm employment status and whether the person who died was a dependant.
- Identify the immediate action the employee needs to take.
- Check separately for Parental Bereavement Leave and statutory pay.
- Apply the contract and bereavement policy before promising pay.
- Explain the initial decision in writing and agree one contact person.
- Respect cultural, religious, family and pregnancy-loss circumstances.
- Request only evidence genuinely required for the relevant leave or pay route.
- Agree what colleagues can be told and when contact will happen.
- Plan temporary return-to-work support and a review date.
- Record the decision consistently while restricting sensitive information.
Do not force every death into one leave code. Identify the immediate statutory right, check parental-bereavement leave and pay separately, apply the organisation's compassionate-leave offer consistently and agree a supported return that reflects the individual facts.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.