This relatively new right came into force with effect from 6 April 2020. It allows parents to take one or two weeks off work following the death of a child under 18 or a still birth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. If more than one child has died or been stillborn, the right applies to each child.
This note simply deals with the statutory right to parental bereavement leave. Many employers may have their own bereavement leave policies and may want to consider whether to amend those policies to specifically provide for the statutory parental bereavement leave provisions or to introduce a separate policy dealing with the statutory right.
Who can take parental bereavement leave?
The right applies to the child’s parent/s. This includes adoptive parents, prospective adopters, an intended parent under a surrogacy arrangement, a parent “in fact” (this is someone looking after the child in that person’s own home for the last four weeks) or the spouse, partner or civil partner of any of the above.
There is no minimum service required for an individual to take parental bereavement leave. However, it is a right that only applies to employees.
How much leave can an employee take?
An employee who qualifies for leave can take up to two weeks’ leave. The options available are either one week’s leave, two continuous weeks’ leave or two separate weeks’ leave.
Leave can start on any day of the week but must be used in the first 56 weeks after the death or stillbirth of the child.
What notification is required?
If the employee wishes to take the leave during the first seven weeks following the child’s death or stillbirth then the employee only needs to give notice of intention to take leave immediately before they are due to start work on the first day of leave. (If you imagine that timing of this notification is similar to someone who is reporting in for absence that day).
If the employee is looking to take leave after that i.e. from week 8 to week 56, then they are required to give at least one week’s notice. An employee can cancel or rearrange their leave but with the same notice requirements as above.
The employee must notify the employer of the following:
- The date of the child’s death
- The date on which the employee chooses leave to start
- Whether the employee intends the period of leave to be one or two weeks.
What pay may an employee receive whilst off on statutory parental bereavement leave?
An employee taking parental bereavement leave may be eligible for statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP), subject to meeting the eligibility requirements. The rate of SPBP is the same as other statutory payments such as statutory paternity pay.
The eligibility requirements are as follows:
- The employee must be a “bereaved parent”.
- The employee must have been in employed earner’s employment with the same employer for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks ending with the “relevant week”. The “relevant week” is the week before the child died, a week being Sunday-Saturday.
- The employee must remain in employment until at least the day the child died.
- The employee must have received normal weekly earnings for the period of eight weeks ending with the relevant week that are not less than the lower earnings limit in force at the end of the relevant week.
Does an employee have to give any notice to qualify for SPBP?
Yes, but it doesn’t have to be written notice unless the employer specifically asks for this. The employee must give his or her employer notice stating the week or weeks in respect of which SPBP is being claimed. That notice must be given either before the start of the SPBP period or no more than 28 days after the first day of the period. Sometimes it may not be reasonably practicable for the employee to give notice in that time; if that is the case then they can give it as soon as reasonable practicable thereafter.
An employer can require the employee to supply a written statement stating their name, the date of the child’s death or stillbirth and a declaration that they meet one of the criteria of a “bereaved parent”.
An employee can cancel a period of SPBP, to do so then the employee needs to provide the same notice as he or she would to cancel the statutory parental bereavement leave.
What is the position in relation to the employee's terms and conditions?
An employee on parental bereavement leave continues to have the benefit of all of their terms and conditions except those governing remuneration. On return from parental bereavement leave the employee has the right to return to the job they were employed in before the leave. (N.B. This is modified if the employee has combined the parental bereavement leave with parental leave or more than four weeks or other statutory family related leave exceeding 26 weeks. In such circumstances the employee has the right to return to the same job but if that is not reasonably practicable for the employer, to return to a job that is both suitable and appropriate for the employee to do in the circumstances.)
Protection from detriment or dismissal
As with other forms of family leave, the employee is protected from being dismissed or being subject to a detriment because they sought to take parental bereavement leave, made use of the benefits of parental bereavement leave, or the employer believed that the employee was likely to take parental bereavement leave.
It is important to note that these rules represent the statutory minimum an employer must offer to a bereaved parent. It is of course always open to an employer to offer more generous terms (for example, a longer period of leave, or full pay rather than statutory pay).