When a team member experiences a bereavement or serious family emergency, compassionate leave (also known as bereavement leave) offers a vital space to grieve or manage difficult circumstances. As an employer, knowing your legal responsibilities around compassionate leave is essential to support your team while staying compliant with UK employment law.
What is compassionate leave?
Compassionate leave is time off granted to an employee when they face a distressing personal situation, such as:
- The death of a close relative or dependent
- A family emergency, such as serious illness or injury
- Miscarriage or stillbirth (for partners or close relatives)
While there is no overarching legal requirement in the UK to provide paid compassionate leave (except in certain circumstances), many businesses choose to offer this leave as part of their employment policies or contracts.
Your legal obligations
1. Time off for dependants
UK employment law outlines a few specific scenarios in which leave must be granted:
All employees have the right to a “reasonable” amount of unpaid time off to deal with emergencies involving a dependant. This includes situations such as:
- The death of a dependant
- Sudden illness or injury of a dependant
- Arrangements following a dependant being assaulted or giving birth
A “dependant” could be a spouse, partner, child, parent, or someone who relies on the employee for care.
2. Parental bereavement leave
Since April 2020, employees are entitled to Parental Bereavement Leave if they lose a child under 18 or suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. This includes:
- Two weeks of statutory leave
- Pay (if eligible), currently at the statutory rate
This right applies from day one of employment.
What is considered “reasonable” time off?
The law does not specify a fixed number of days for emergency leave, and there is no minimum or maximum. Instead, it must be a “reasonable” amount of time, typically one or two days, but it may be longer depending on the situation.
Employers can use their discretion and internal policy to clarify what is considered reasonable within their organisation.
Best practice: Creating a compassionate leave policy
While not legally required, having a written compassionate leave policy helps ensure clarity, fairness and consistency across your organisation. A good policy should outline:
- Who is eligible for compassionate leave
- What situations are covered
- How much leave is typically offered
- Whether the leave is paid or unpaid
- How employees should request the leave
This also demonstrates a commitment to employee wellbeing, helping to foster a supportive and empathetic workplace culture.
Recording compassionate leave with ease
Managing compassionate leave requests can be emotionally sensitive. HR software like HR Planner can support employers by:
- Allowing employees to submit leave requests confidentially
- Logging and tracking leave records in one place
- Helping HR teams uphold fair and consistent policies
Compassionate leave is more than just a policy – it reflects your company’s values and your support for employees during difficult times. By understanding your legal responsibilities and having clear internal procedures, you can handle compassionate leave with empathy and compliance.
Need a simple way to manage employee leave?
HR Planner makes it easy to track all types of leave, from holidays to compassionate absence, with unlimited custom leave types and simple reporting.
Start your free 14-day trial today – no credit card or commitment required. For more information on the latest features, call our expert team on 01252 636070 or email support@hrplanner.uk.