Bereavement leave: the rules now, and from 2027.

• There is no general legal right to paid bereavement leave. The exception is the death of a child, below.
• When a dependant dies, an employee has a right to reasonable time off to deal with it, under time off for dependants. The law sets no number of days, and it doesn’t have to be paid.
• Many employers give paid compassionate leave in their own policy.

If a child dies before they turn 18, or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, the parents may be entitled to:

• 2 weeks’ leave for each child, from their first day in the job: both weeks together, two separate weeks, or one week, ending within 56 weeks of the death;
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay of £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, if they meet the service and earnings tests.

Their rights to pay rises, holiday and returning to work are protected while on leave. In Northern Ireland, different eligibility rules apply for bereavements from 6 April 2026.

Section 18 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 replaces parental bereavement leave with a wider bereavement leave. GOV.UK’s timeline plans it for April 2027; it has no start date in law yet. What the Act sets:

• An employee who has lost someone they had a close enough relationship with will be entitled to leave. Regulations will say which relationships count.
• It includes pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, for the person who was pregnant and for people with a relationship to them that regulations will set.
• For a death other than a child’s, the leave must be at least one week.
• Someone bereaved by more than one death gets leave for each.

How it is taken, the notice, and whether any of it is paid wait on the regulations. We will update this page when they are made.

• Check your policy covers parental bereavement leave from day one, and says what compassionate leave you give for other deaths.
• Decide how you will treat pregnancy loss before 24 weeks now, rather than waiting for the law.
• Make sure managers know to be flexible, and who to tell.