BEREAVEMENT POLICY
The purpose of this Policy is to inform staff of the time off the Company is able to offer during the loss of a relative when they feel unable to work.
You are permitted to take reasonable time off following the loss of a Direct Family Member. A Direct Family Member means spouse, brother, sister, parent or grandparent. The time taken must be discussed with the nursery manager and with Senior Management for managers. Remuneration during this period must be discussed with Senior Management.
You are entitled to paid time off for funerals of Direct Family Members. This will be put into WhosOff as Bereavement Leave. Unpaid leave or annual leave shall be used for attendance at all other funerals.
When considering “reasonable time off” we ask that you consider the extra work pressure that will be caused to your colleagues.
Arrangements for attending funerals must be discussed with your Nursery Manager, or Senior Management for managers.
Supervision is available if needed in these circumstances.
Parental Bereavement Leave
You are entitled to statutory parental bereavement leave (SPBL) if a child for whom you have or were due to have parental responsibility has died or been stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, on or after 6 April 2020.
Leave can be taken as one week, two consecutive weeks, or two separate weeks, at any time within the first 56 weeks after the child’s death.
Notification
During the first eight weeks after a child has died, you, or someone on your behalf as necessary, need only give notice to the Company to take SPBL before you are due to start work on the first day of leave. If you have already started work, then officially your SPBL period will start on the following day. If you want to cancel it at any time during the first seven weeks you can do so as long as it has not started.
After eight weeks, you need to give at least a week’s notice to the Company to take SPBL. You can cancel it with a week's notice, or re-book it by giving a week's notice.
When giving notice to take SPBL, you must tell the Company: the date of the child’s death; when you want your leave to begin; and whether you want to take 1 or 2 weeks leave). You can give notice by telephone or by email or by letter.
Parental Bereavement Pay
To qualify for statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP) during such leave you must have at least six months’ continuous employment and normal weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit. It is paid at the same rate as other statutory family leave pay, which is subject to change every year. You can check the most up-to-date figure with your line manager.
To claim SPBP, you must confirm the following information in writing within 28 days of starting any period of SPBL: your name; your entitlement to SPBP; the dates of SPBL you want to claim the pay for; the date of the child's death; and your relationship to the child. You can provide this information at the same time as giving notice to take SPBL, as set out above, so long as it is in writing.
Other leave entitlements
In addition to parental bereavement leave, if you qualified for:
- maternity or paternity leave and pay and your child has died or been stillborn, you are still entitled to such leave and pay.
- adoption leave and pay, then the adoption leave entitlement runs for another eight weeks from the end of the week in which the child died (unless it would already have ended sooner).
If your planned period of SPBL coincides with another statutory family leave right, your SPBL will end at the start of that other leave. If you wish to take SPBL at the end of the other statutory family leave period, then a fresh notice to take the leave will be required, as per the above notice requirements.
Compassionate leave may be available under our Compassionate Leave Policy at our discretion. Please speak to your manager if you require time off in addition to parental bereavement leave.
Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave
This policy is intended to reflect the statutory provisions and provides guidelines only. If there is any conflict between this policy and the statutory provisions, the latter will prevail.
Employees are entitled to take statutory bereaved partner’s paternity leave (BPPL) if a child’s mother/primary adopter has died within 52 weeks of the child’s birth/adoption placement and the employee is the child’s father or partner of the mother/primary adopter and they have the main responsibility for the child’s upbringing and be taking the leave to care for the child.
Leave can start at any time after your bereavement and be taken as a single period that can last up to 52 weeks after the date of birth/adoption placement. If the bereavement takes place at any point in the last two weeks of that 52-week period, you can take the leave for up to two weeks after the bereavement.
Notification
To start BPPL in the first eight weeks after the bereavement
You, or someone on your behalf as necessary, need only give notice to us to do so before you are due to start work on the first day of leave. Notice can be given verbally or in writing. You must tell us: the bereavement date; the child’s date of birth/adoption placement; and the leave start date. If you have already started work, then officially your leave period will start on the following day.
In addition, and no more than eight weeks after the bereavement and at least one week before the return date, you must tell us in writing how long you intend to be absent and the date you intend to return to work. If you intend to return to work more than eight weeks after the bereavement, you must also include, in this written notification, the child’s date of birth/adoption placement and a declaration that you meet the necessary relationship condition to the child or to the mother/primary adopter and that you are taking the leave to care for the child.
If you want to cancel starting such leave or change the start date to another date also falling within the first eight weeks after the bereavement, you can do so by giving notice no later than the day before it was due to start or the day before the new date (if earlier). If you want to change the start date to a date falling more than eight weeks after the bereavement, the notice must be in writing and given before it was due to start and at least a week before the new date.
To start BPPL more than eight weeks after the bereavement
To do so, you need to give us at least a week’s written notice which contains all the information above, namely: the bereavement date; the child’s date of birth/adoption placement; the leave start date; how long you intend to be absent; the date you intend to return to work; and a declaration that you meet the necessary relationship condition to the child or to the mother/primary adopter (including having the main responsibility for the child’s upbringing) and that you are taking the leave to care for the child.
You can cancel starting such leave, or change the start date, with at least a week’s written notice before it was due to start or before the new date (if earlier).
Changing the return to work date
You can change your return to work date by giving us one week’s, or eight weeks’ where it was more than eight weeks after the bereavement, written notice before that date or before the new date (if earlier). Your return date cannot be later than 52 weeks after the date of birth/adoption placement.
Pay and other leave