New leave allowance for grieving parents

A Bill has been published last month which will entitle parents two weeks paid leave in the sad event that they lose a child under the age of 18. Currently, whilst employers are expected to be understanding and flexible where possibl, there is no legal obligation to allow parents paid time off to grieve.

The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill will entitle all employees to parental bereavement leave, regardless of their service length. Those who have 26 weeks’ continuous service will also benefit from statutory parental bereavement pay, the cost of which employers will be able to recover from the Government.