Is There a Legal Right to Bereavement Leave in the UK?

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1. 1Is there a legal right to bereavement leave in the UK?
2. 2What is Parental Bereavement Leave, or “Jack’s Law”?
3. 3Can you take time off work when a dependant dies?
4. 4What is changing under the Employment Rights Act 2025?
5. 5Is compassionate leave a legal right?
6. 6Is there leave for a miscarriage or pregnancy loss before 24 weeks?
7. 7How should a manager support a grieving colleague?
8. 8Can grief lead to sickness absence or reasonable adjustments?
9. 9What should a good bereavement policy include?
10. 10What training helps managers and employers support bereaved staff?
11. 11Frequently asked questions

This guide is for employers, managers, HR staff and employees in England, Scotland and Wales, checked against GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk and Acas on 7 November 2026. It covers what the law requires today, what is changing and when, and then how to support a grieving colleague and what a good bereavement policy contains. For a similar look at another commonly misunderstood right, see our guide to time off for training. Any examples are invented. General information, not legal advice.

Is there a legal right to bereavement leave in the UK?

Only in specific cases. The government’s own consultation response, published on 22 September 2026, puts it bluntly: “Currently, only employees who lose a child have a statutory entitlement to time off from work for bereavement.” An employee whose parent, partner, brother or sister dies has no statutory right to bereavement leave as such. What they may have is a right to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with the practical consequences of a dependant’s death, and whatever their employment contract or their employer’s policy offers on top.

That surprises people because most employers do give compassionate leave, and many pay it. The government’s response accepts that most employers “respond with compassion and flexibility”, but notes that practice varies and some bereaved employees have been refused time off. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is designed to close that gap; until its bereavement provisions are in force, the position is as set out below.

What is Parental Bereavement Leave, or “Jack’s Law”?

Parental Bereavement Leave came from the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 and took effect on 6 April 2020. It is widely known as Jack’s Law, after Jack Herd, whose mother Lucy campaigned for bereaved parents to have protected time off. According to GOV.UK, it applies if an employee’s child dies before they turn 18, or if they have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. It covers biological and adoptive parents, surrogacy parents, a parent’s partner and, in some cases, people with day-to-day care of the child.

The leave itself is a day-one right: an employee can take it from the first day of employment, however long they have worked there. They can take two weeks together, two separate weeks, or just one week, and a “week” means the number of days they normally work — two days for someone who works only Mondays and Tuesdays. The leave must be taken within 56 weeks of the death or stillbirth. In the first 8 weeks, notice is only needed before the employee would normally start work that day; from week 9, a week’s notice. A call, text or email is enough, and GOV.UK says no proof of death or stillbirth is required.

Pay is a separate question. To get Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, an employee needs at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment up to the end of the week before the death and average earnings of at least £129 a week. GOV.UK lists the rate as £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower (checked 7 November 2026; the rate is normally reviewed each April). Employment rights such as holiday accrual and the right to return to work are protected during the leave. In a stillbirth after 24 weeks, parents may also keep their maternity, paternity or shared parental leave entitlement, as Acas notes in its guidance on time off for bereavement.

Can you take time off work when a dependant dies?

Yes — but it is narrower than most people think. Section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives employees the right to take “a reasonable amount of time off” during working hours for several kinds of emergency involving a dependant, one of which is action that is necessary “in consequence of the death of a dependant”. In practice that means things like registering the death, making funeral arrangements and attending the funeral. Acas confirms that this covers arranging or attending a funeral.

Three limits matter. First, it covers the practical consequences of the death, not grieving. The government’s consultation response says in terms that the right “does not cover time off specifically for bereavement or to grieve.” Second, there is no fixed amount — “reasonable” depends on the circumstances — and no legal requirement to pay. Third, “dependant” has a specific legal meaning. For this purpose it means a spouse or civil partner, a child, a parent, or someone who lives in the same household as the employee (other than as their tenant, lodger, boarder or employee). A brother, sister, grandparent or friend who did not live with the employee is not a dependant here, so their death does not trigger the right at all. An employer must not refuse reasonable time off in qualifying circumstances or treat the employee unfairly for taking it.

What is changing under the Employment Rights Act 2025?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Section 18, headed “Bereavement leave”, amends the Employment Rights Act 1996 to turn Parental Bereavement Leave into a wider “bereavement leave” right, extending it to other close relationships and to pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. That is now statute, but it is not yet a right anyone can use.

The Act said section 18 would not come into force at Royal Assent. A first commencement order, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, switched parts of section 18 on from 6 January 2026 — but only “for the purposes of making regulations”. That gave the government power to write the detailed rules; it did not give employees a right to take the leave. The government consulted from 16 October 2025 to 15 January 2026 and published its decisions on 22 September 2026. Its implementation timeline, last updated on 5 November 2026, lists “bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss” among the measures for April 2027, and Acas lists it under upcoming changes for April 2027. The regulations that set an exact start date had not been made when we checked. Until they are, treat April 2027 as the government’s plan, not as a confirmed commencement date.

According to the government’s response, the planned right will work like this:

• Who is covered. Employees, from day one, who lose a spouse or partner (cohabiting or not), a parent, an adult child or a sibling (including adopted, step and half-siblings), plus equivalent parental relationships for people raised in kinship or foster care. It continues to sit alongside the existing rules for the death of a child.
• Pregnancy loss. All pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including terminations and IVF embryo transfer loss, for the person who was pregnant, the other biological parent, partners, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
• Length and pay. Up to two weeks, based on the employee’s usual working pattern. It will be unpaid; the government says employers can choose to enhance it with more time or pay.
• Timing. Within 56 weeks of the death, the pregnancy loss or the date the employee found out, and it can be taken as single, non-consecutive days.
• Notice and evidence. As soon as reasonably practicable, including the same day, in the first eight weeks; a week’s notice after that. Any form of notice will do, and there will be no evidence requirement.

The government says it will publish employer guidance alongside the regulations. Employers can map their policies against these points now, but should not tell staff the new statutory right already exists.

Is compassionate leave a legal right?

No. Outside the specific rights above, there is no general statutory right to compassionate leave, paid or unpaid, and no legal right to be paid for bereavement time apart from Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay. Compassionate leave — also called bereavement leave or special leave in many organisations — exists only where the employment contract, a staff handbook or a bereavement policy provides it, or where the employer agrees it case by case. If a policy forms part of the contract, the employee can enforce it like any other term. If it is discretionary, the employer decides, but it should still decide fairly.

Acas’s guidance gives a practical route where there is no policy. The employer and employee should agree what type of leave it will be, how much time is available, and whether it is paid; decisions should be consistent with how other bereaved staff have been treated and confirmed in writing. Time off can be recorded as sick leave if the employee is unwell, or taken as annual leave if the employee asks, and anyone on sick leave or holiday should receive their normal sick pay or holiday pay. Time off for the funeral of someone who was not a dependant — a close friend, an aunt, a colleague — is at the employer’s discretion.

Discretion has limits. Acas points out that refusing time off for a religious ceremony connected with a death could amount to religion or belief discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, and that different religious and cultural practices around death and mourning should be considered, including the need to travel abroad at short notice for a funeral. A rigid policy with no allowance for a funeral overseas or for mourning customs can quietly disadvantage some staff. Our guide to equality, diversity and inclusion explains the wider framework.

Is there leave for a miscarriage or pregnancy loss before 24 weeks?

Not yet as a separate statutory right. Today, a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks does not trigger Parental Bereavement Leave, which starts at 24 weeks, and Acas confirms there is no statutory entitlement to time off, though it encourages employers to consider offering it. What does apply now is the ordinary sickness framework. Statutory Sick Pay is available, subject to the usual eligibility rules, to an employee who is unwell following a pregnancy loss, and the government’s response notes that such absence is treated as protected pregnancy-related sickness, so it should not be counted towards sickness absence totals. Partners have no statutory right to time off at all in this situation, which is one of the gaps the planned April 2027 right is meant to close.

Many employers already offer a short period of paid leave to both partners. Because early pregnancy loss is often private, a policy that asks for no evidence and lets the employee choose who is told is kinder, and closer to how the planned statutory right will work.

How should a manager support a grieving colleague?

Acas’s guidance on supporting an employee after a death is practical and humane, and it starts with the first conversation. The manager should express sympathy, make it clear the person can take the time they need and that work comes second, and agree how and how often to stay in touch. Ask whether urgent work needs covering and how the person wants colleagues told, and do not push decisions onto them in the first few days.

Keeping-in-touch contact should be light and on the employee’s terms, with no talk of a return date in the first few days. Later conversations can cover how they are coping, when they might feel ready, and what support would help. Acas suggests considering a phased return or a temporary change of duties — for example, moving someone away from customer-facing work for a while — and planning the first day back, including how colleagues will be briefed and how the person will be welcomed. It also suggests warning the employee in advance about changes that might be painful, such as a colleague’s pregnancy after the loss of a baby.

For colleagues, the most useful things are simple: acknowledge the loss rather than avoiding the person, follow their lead on whether to talk about it, and keep checking in after the first week, when support often falls away. Grief does not follow a timetable. Acas notes that anniversaries, inquests and other dates can be especially hard, so a good manager notes them and offers flexibility.

Can grief lead to sickness absence or reasonable adjustments?

It can. Acas is clear that grief is a natural response to loss, not in itself a mental health problem. But grief can become prolonged or complicated, and it can lead to anxiety, depression or other conditions that should be taken seriously. Where an employee is too unwell to work, ordinary sickness absence rules apply. Many employers choose to record bereavement-related absence separately so it does not trigger a formal absence warning — a policy choice, not a legal requirement.

Where a mental health condition develops and has a substantial and long-term effect on the employee’s normal day-to-day activities, it may meet the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010. In that case the employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments, such as a phased return, adjusted hours, a temporary change of duties, or extra time to meet targets. Acas advises focusing on how the condition affects the person rather than on the diagnosis label, which is the same functional approach we describe in our guide to whether neurodiversity is protected by UK law. Employers also have a general duty under health and safety law to manage the risk of work-related stress, and pressure from workload can compound grief; our guide to work-related stress and the HSE Management Standards covers that side.

Signposting matters too: an employee assistance programme or counselling, if available, and external bereavement charities. A workplace mental health first aider is not a counsellor, but can listen and point people towards help, as explained in our guide to what UK law requires on mental health first aid. If a manager is ever worried that a bereaved employee may be at risk of harming themselves, that needs an urgent response, not a wait-and-see approach: encourage them to contact their GP, NHS 111 or the Samaritans, or call 999 if there is immediate danger.

What should a good bereavement policy include?

A written policy is not a legal requirement, but Acas recommends one: it tells staff what to expect when nobody wants to negotiate, and helps managers respond consistently. Drawing on Acas’s guidance on the benefits of a bereavement policy, a good policy should cover:

• Reporting. How to tell the organisation about a death, who can do it on the employee’s behalf if they cannot, and who it goes to — usually the line manager. Acas adds that employers should be understanding if someone does not follow the procedure exactly.
• Scope. Which relationships are covered, and what applies when the person who died was not a close relative or dependant — a friend, a grandparent, a colleague.
• Leave and pay. How much leave is given, whether it is paid and at what rate, and whether it depends on length of service or employment status.
• Pregnancy loss. Leave for the person who was pregnant and their partner, with no evidence requirement.
• Flexibility. What happens if someone needs more time, including travel abroad for a funeral and religious or cultural observances, and how leave can be split into single days.
• Return to work. Phased returns, reduced hours, temporary changes of duties, and how bereavement-related absence is recorded.
• Support. The employee assistance programme, counselling and external organisations.
• Statutory rights. A clear statement of Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay and time off for dependants, to be updated when the new statutory bereavement leave is brought into force.

Acas’s guidance also covers what to do if someone at work dies, which a full policy should address: how and when to tell colleagues, contact with the family, and support for the team. A policy only helps if managers know it and feel able to use it, which is why Acas also recommends training managers to have empathetic conversations.

What training helps managers and employers support bereaved staff?

Three Nexis CPD courses build the knowledge behind this guide:

Together they cost £18 rather than £27 under the pay-for-2-get-3 offer, and employers training 5 or more staff pay £6 a course place on the team plan. These are awareness-level CPD courses, not regulated qualifications, and they do not replace legal advice, an employer’s own HR policies, or professional bereavement counselling. If you take one, start with Bereavement Awareness at Work: 20 questions, 80% to pass, and an instant certificate.

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Frequently asked questions

Is there a legal right to paid bereavement leave in the UK?

Only when a child dies. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is available to eligible employed parents whose child under 18 dies or is stillborn after 24 weeks. For any other bereavement, there is no legal right to paid leave; pay depends on the contract or the employer’s policy.

How many days off do you get when a parent dies?

There is no fixed statutory number. A parent counts as a dependant, so an employee has a right to reasonable unpaid time off to deal with the death, such as arranging and attending the funeral. Any further compassionate leave depends on the contract or the employer’s policy.

Is the new day-one bereavement leave in force yet?

No. Section 18 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 creates the wider right, but as of 7 November 2026 it has only been brought into force for the purpose of making regulations. The government plans for the leave to start in April 2027, and it will be up to two weeks, unpaid.

Can my employer refuse time off for a funeral?

For the funeral of a dependant, such as a spouse, partner, child, parent or someone who lived with you, your employer must allow reasonable time off. For anyone else, it is at the employer’s discretion, although refusing time off for a religious ceremony could amount to religion or belief discrimination.

Is there bereavement leave for a miscarriage before 24 weeks?

Not yet. There is currently no statutory leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, although sick leave and Statutory Sick Pay may apply if the employee is unwell, and that absence is protected. The planned April 2027 right will give up to two weeks of unpaid leave to both parents.

Does an employer need a bereavement policy?

It is not a legal requirement, but Acas recommends one. A good policy sets out how to report a death, which relationships are covered, how much leave and pay is given, how the return to work is handled and what support is available.

General information, not legal advice. This guide reflects the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 and GOV.UK guidance on Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay, section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, section 18 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and its first commencement regulations, the government’s response on leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss (22 September 2026), the government’s implementation timeline (updated 5 November 2026), and Acas guidance on time off for bereavement, all as checked on 7 November 2026. It applies to England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has separate employment law. Planned changes may be altered before they take effect. Nexis CPD courses are CPD-accredited awareness training, not regulated qualifications, and they do not replace specific legal advice, an employer’s own policies, or professional bereavement support.