The Government has published its consultation response confirming how the new statutory right to bereavement leave, introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“ERA 2025”), will work in practice. The measures are due to come into force in April 2027, but the regulations have not yet been drafted, so the detail below may be subject to change.
What are employees’ current bereavement leave rights?
At present, there is no general statutory right to bereavement leave in England and Wales.
The only specific entitlement is parental bereavement leave, which gives eligible employees the right to up to two weeks' leave following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Beyond that, bereaved employees must rely on their employer's discretion, contractual policies or their right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off for dependants. That right is limited in scope and intended only to deal with immediate emergencies, such as making funeral arrangements.
How will bereavement leave change from April 2027?
The ERA 2025 introduced the framework for a broader right to bereavement leave. The Government's consultation response confirms the details of how it will work in practice. The key features are as follows:
- It will be a day one right with no qualifying service period.
- It will cover the death of a spouse, civil partner, long-term partner, parent, adult child or sibling (including biological, adopted, step and half-relationships), and equivalent parental relationships arising from kinship or foster care.
- The death of a child under 18 will continue to be covered by parental bereavement leave.
- The entitlement will be to two weeks' unpaid leave, which can be taken in blocks of at least one day.
- Leave must be taken within 56 weeks of the death.
- In the first eight weeks, the employee need only give notice before they would normally start work on the first day of leave. After that, one week's notice will apply.
- Employers will not be able to require evidence of the death.
- For pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, the entitlement will extend to the pregnant woman, her spouse, civil partner, other parent or committed partner, intended co-parents and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements.
- Employees will be protected against detriment and dismissal for taking, or seeking to take, bereavement leave.
How can employers prepare for the new bereavement leave rules?
This is an important development for employers, who will need to understand the scope of the new entitlement before it takes effect. To prepare for April 2027, we suggest you:
- Review your current bereavement and compassionate leave policies and plan updates to reflect the new statutory entitlement.
- Review related policies (for example, parental bereavement leave, time off for dependants and annual leave) to ensure they are consistent and clearly drafted.
- Decide whether your organisation will offer paid bereavement leave over and above the statutory minimum and, if so, on what terms.
- Update your absence management and HR systems to record bereavement leave as a distinct category.
- Train line managers and HR teams on the new rules, including the qualifying relationships, the notice requirements, the bar on requesting evidence of the death, and how to support bereaved employees sensitively.
- Communicate the changes to your workforce in good time, so employees understand their rights and the process for requesting leave.
Our Employment team can help you review your policies and prepare for these changes. You can get in touch by emailing employmentenquiry@lawblacks.com or visit our Employment page for more of our services, here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]