Purpose and Scope
This policy details the leave and support [Organisation Name] provides when an employee experiences a bereavement. It covers all employees from their first day of employment. Use this policy alongside existing policies covering time off for dependants and sickness absence management.
Working through related paperwork at the same time? See also our Adoption Leave Policy, Annual Leave Policy and Maternity Leave Policy.
Policy Statement
[Organisation Name] treats every bereaved employee with compassion and flexibility. This policy sets out minimum standards. Line managers may extend these provisions with approval from [Role], but cannot reduce them. We only ask for details necessary to arrange leave and support.
Leave Entitlements and Pay
- Compassionate Leave (Immediate Family): If an immediate family member dies (partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or equivalent step and in-law relationship), employees receive up to [Number] days of paid compassionate leave per event.
- Discretionary Leave (Other Relationships): For the death of an extended family member, close friend, or other significant relation, [Role] may grant up to [Number] days of leave.
- Parental Bereavement Leave: Employed parents have a statutory right to parental bereavement leave and statutory pay following the loss of a child. This sits on top of standard compassionate leave. Pay during statutory parental bereavement leave is [topped up to normal pay / paid at the statutory rate].
- Extending Leave: Leave under this policy pays your normal rate. If you need more time, discuss options with [Role], such as annual leave, unpaid leave, temporary adjustments to hours or duties, or alternative working locations.
- Subsequent Time Off: You do not have to take all leave immediately. Agree time off in advance with [Role] for later events like inquests, estate administration, or delayed memorial services.
- Ill Health: If grief affects an employee’s health, handle any resulting absence under the organisation’s sickness absence policy.
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Procedure for Requesting Leave
- Contact [Role] or your line manager as soon as possible. Call, message, or ask a colleague or family member to reach out on your behalf.
- Agree on the initial absence period and set a date for a check-in.
- The line manager logs the absence under bereavement leave, confirms what details the employee wants shared with colleagues, and reassigns workload. Do not request documentary evidence for compassionate leave.
Support on Return to Work
- Return Conversation: Line managers meet with the employee on their first day back.
- Workplace Adjustments: Use short-term adjustments where needed, such as a phased return, modified duties, or flexibility around anniversaries and dependant care.
- Follow-up: Line managers conduct a check-in after [Number] weeks to review well-being and ongoing adjustments.
- Support Resources: Employees can access internal support, including [employee assistance programmes / counselling benefits / mental health first aiders].
Records and Review
- Record Keeping: Log bereavement absences in [System Name] separately from sickness. Exclude these absences from absence-management trigger calculations.
- Review Cycle: [Role] reviews this policy [Frequency] or whenever statutory rights change. Next review date: [Date].
FAQs on Bereavement Leave Policy
What is a bereavement leave policy?
A bereavement leave policy details the leave and support your organisation provides when an employee experiences a bereavement. It covers all employees from their first day of employment.
Having it written down means the same rules apply to everyone, so managers are not making judgement calls case by case under pressure.
What does a bereavement leave policy include?
This template covers leave entitlements and pay, procedure for requesting leave and support on return to work.
Every section is written to be filled in. The bracketed placeholders mark the decisions that are yours to make, such as timescales, approval owners and retention periods.
How to implement a bereavement leave policy with Whale
Copy this template into Whale and work through the bracketed placeholders so it reflects how your organisation actually operates.
Assign it to the teams it applies to so it sits where people work rather than in a shared drive, and set a review date so it gets revisited on schedule instead of quietly going out of date.
Use our templates to fast-track your documentation
Customize this template and 100s of others for free in Whale, the fastest way to get your team aligned.
