Proposals for bereavement leave

The government has published proposals for bereavement leave

A new statutory entitlement to unpaid bereavement leave will be arriving in April 2027.

Following the Employment Rights Act 2025 receiving Royal Assent, the Government has consulted on the details of this new statutory entitlement and we now have more information on how this will work.

It is proposed that all employees will be entitled to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave from day one of employment (pro rata for part-time employees), which can be used within 56 weeks of the bereavement (or the employee’s knowledge of it). Employees can also choose to take this leave in blocks of as little as one day at a time.

This entitlement will fit around the existing statutory entitlement to Parental Bereavement Leave (PBL), which offers two weeks of paid leave to parents who have experienced the death of a child under 18 years old, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

This new entitlement will therefore apply to the following forms of bereavement:

• Pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, which includes miscarriage, terminations and IVF embryo transfer loss (this applies to the pregnant person as well as the spouse, civil partner, committed partner, other biological parent, or the intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement);
• Bereavement of an adult child (i.e., 18 years old or above);
• Bereavement of a spouse, civil partner or committed partner; and
• Bereavement of a sibling.

This entitlement will also recognise step, half, adoptive, kinship care and/or foster relationships.

Notice requirements for bereavement leave will depend on when it is taken. Within the first eight weeks of bereavement, notice only needs to be given before the employee starts work on that day. After eight weeks, one week’s notice should be provided; however, there is no prescribed way in which notification should be given.

Furthermore, employees do not need to provide any evidence of their loss in order to take bereavement leave.

If the proposals go ahead as published, your employees will be able to take bereavement leave from their first day without giving you any proof of their loss. Contact Solutions for HR to review your leave policy before a manager has to deal with one of these requests.