Bereavement and compassionate leave: reviewing workplace policies ahead of the new legislation

By Sharokh Koussari, Employment Partner at Spencer West LLP

The extension of statutory bereavement leave, expected from April 2027, will require employers to review their bereavement and compassionate leave policies. For those employers who already provide substantial support the task will be to accommodate the new entitlement within any existing arrangements.

The current framework and the case for reform

The current legislative framework is rather limited. Parental bereavement leave is provided for in Part VIII, Chapter IV of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/249). Eligible employees can take two weeks’ leave following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. Statutory pay depends on separate eligibility requirements.

There is no general statutory entitlement to compassionate leave. Section 57A of the 1996 Act provides reasonable unpaid time off for necessary action involving a dependant, including following illness or death. This addresses practical needs, such as arranging a funeral, rather than providing a general period in which to grieve.

Whilst many employers go considerably further through paid bereavement leave and broader compassionate leave policies, that is not always the case with support depending on an employer’s approach. The reforms recognise the need for a broader statutory minimum, informed by consultation with employees, employers and other stakeholders.

Section 18 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends the legislative framework beyond parental bereavement. The Government’s September 2026 consultation response confirms plans for two weeks’ unpaid leave from the first day of employment. Implementing regulations remain necessary, with commencement expected in April 2027.

Eligibility and flexibility

The new entitlement will cover the death of a spouse, civil partner, qualifying partner, parent, adult child or sibling. Relevant adoptive, step and half relationships, and equivalent parental relationships involving kinship or foster care, are also included. Pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will also qualify, including miscarriage, termination and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer, with protection extending to specified partners and intended parents.

Leave will be available as individual days within 56 weeks. An employee might take several days immediately after a parent’s death, further leave for the funeral and the balance around an anniversary. Others may prefer a continuous absence. Policies and HR systems must accommodate both.

Broader compassionate leave remains relevant for losses outside the statutory categories and circumstances such as serious family illness. Employers should explain which entitlement applies, rather than expecting employees to navigate overlapping policies during a difficult period.

Reviewing policies and preserving benefits

Here, the starting point is to establish whether existing benefits are contractual. Policies in genuinely non-contractual handbooks can be updated without individually agreed contractual variations. However, contracts, handbook wording and established practice require examination: adding a non-contractual label will not remove an existing contractual entitlement.

Employers should then review eligibility, duration, pay, timing and notification together. For example a policy offering three weeks’ paid bereavement leave may exceed the new minimum financially yet still require amendment if all leave is required to be taken immediately.

The relationship between company benefits and statutory leave should be stated explicitly in the policies. Three paid weeks should not inadvertently become three paid weeks plus two unpaid weeks. Equally, company restrictions must not prevent an employee from exercising the statutory right. Any provision treating company leave as satisfying statutory leave should be checked against the implementing regulations.

Subject to that review, wording might provide: “The Company’s enhanced bereavement leave runs concurrently with statutory bereavement leave where both apply to the same absence and loss, to the extent permitted by law. Nothing in this policy restricts statutory rights or existing contractual entitlements. Additional compassionate leave may be granted under the arrangements set out below”.

Dismissal and bereavement and compassionate leave

Employers must be aware of this risk: currently, dismissal is automatically unfair where the reason or principal reason is taking or seeking to take statutory parental bereavement leave or qualifying time off for dependants. No qualifying service is required. The reforms will retain this protection and extend it to the new bereavement entitlement. Leave provided solely under an employer’s compassionate leave policy does not attract the same automatic protection, although other claims may arise

Managers and implementation

Managers will have to determine how effectively the revised policies operate. Training should cover eligibility, pay, booking arrangements and protection against detriment or dismissal, alongside confidentiality and sensitive communication. Managers should understand the distinction between bereavement leave, compassionate leave, dependants’ leave and sickness absence and recognise relevant Equality Act 2010 obligations as well as consequences of non-compliance.

The confirmed scheme requires no evidence of loss. Notice can take any form, with short-notice arrangements during the first eight weeks and one week’s notice thereafter. Employers should reflect these requirements in straightforward procedures and avoid unnecessary administrative demands.

These are generally welcome reforms, recognising that existing statutory protection does not reflect the range of losses employees experience. Further widening appears a likely direction of travel, although no such extension has been confirmed. When these rights are sensitively administered, the new rights should be conducive to better employment relations and greater trust.

However, care should be given to implementation. Each employer should reconcile the new entitlement with existing benefits, communicate the revised arrangements clearly to staff and equip managers to ensure consistently, with appropriate judgement and care.