From April 2020, the Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Act will come into force in the UK.
This will provide employed parents who lose a child under 18 with an entitlement to two weeks' paid leave, to allow them time to grieve away from work. Employees with over 26 weeks' service will also be entitled to receive two weeks' statutory pay. Under the new law, parents will be able to take leave as either a single block of two weeks, or as two separate blocks of one week each across the first year after the death.
This new law will make the UK the only country where employees have a right to bereavement leave. Currently, employers can treat time off for bereavement as sick leave or holiday leave under their workplace policies.
