There is no legal requirement for employers to
provide paid time off for grieving parents and employers are expected to be
understanding and flexible. The
Employment Rights Act allows employees to take a ‘reasonable' amount of unpaid
time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent. This is likely to
change.
The Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy has now published a Bill, which will entitle working
parents who lose a child under the age of 18 to two weeks' leave, regardless of
their length of service.
Employees with a minimum of 26 weeks'
continuous service will also be eligible for statutory parental bereavement pay, the cost of which
employers will be able to recover from the Government.
It is hoped the bill will formally become law
in 2020.