Bereavement leave and pay depend on your employment status, relationship to the person who died, location and employer’s policy. In Great Britain, employees can have a right to reasonable time off when a dependant dies, but pay is a separate question. Specific parental rights also apply. Ask what leave is being agreed, whether it is paid and when you will next speak with your manager.
For Great Britain, check the current guidance before relying on a fixed number of paid days: Acas: current time off and pay after a death
What should a written leave agreement confirm?
Confirm the type of leave, dates currently agreed, whether it is paid and who to contact if circumstances change. You can agree a review date without promising that grief will be over by then. Keep the practical arrangement distinct from how much personal detail you choose to share.
Example: a funeral abroad
Tell your manager that travel and funeral arrangements are still being confirmed. Ask which days can be covered by bereavement or dependant leave and whether other leave is needed for additional travel. Request the agreement in writing and avoid assuming one policy applies identically across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Future reforms do not replace today’s entitlement check
A planned change in bereavement rights is not the same as a right already in force for your circumstances. Check the current Acas or Northern Ireland guidance, your employment status and your contract. If your health prevents you from working, discuss the appropriate absence route separately.
Choose the next step you need
Organise government notifications separately from work leave
If you are also an executor: separate the estate tasks
Is there a legal right to bereavement leave in the UK?
Not in the way most people expect. Acas, the workplace advice service, explains that employees have a legal right to time off when a dependant dies, and when a child dies under 18 or is stillborn. If the person who died was not a dependant or your child, there is no legal right to time off, although Acas encourages employers to be compassionate, including after the death of a friend.
There is also no general legal right to be paid during bereavement leave. The one statutory exception is Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay for eligible parents after the death of a child. Everything else, from compassionate leave to paid days off for a grandparent's funeral, depends on your contract, your employer's bereavement policy or what you agree with your manager.
These rights belong to employees. Acas notes that agency, casual and zero-hours workers are not likely to be employees, so they may not have them, though employers should still support them, for example by agreeing another type of time off.
How much time off do you get when a close family member dies?
The main legal route is time off for dependants. Under section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employee is entitled to take "a reasonable amount of time off" during working hours to take necessary action "in consequence of the death of a dependant". For this purpose, a dependant is your spouse or civil partner, your child, your parent, or someone who lives in your household (but not as your employee, tenant, lodger or boarder).
The law sets no fixed number of days. Acas says the right covers arranging or attending a funeral, and that it is unpaid by law, although some employers pay. What counts as reasonable depends on the situation: a funeral abroad or an estate you are suddenly responsible for may need more time than a local service. You only need to tell your employer as soon as you can how much time you think you will need. GOV.UK confirms that your employer may pay you for this time but does not have to.
If you need longer than a few days, you can combine time off for dependants with paid holiday, unpaid leave or sick leave if you are not well enough to work. Acas points out that usual sick pay or holiday pay applies when you take sick leave or holiday.
What is Parental Bereavement Leave and who gets paid?
Parental Bereavement Leave, sometimes called Jack's Law, applies if your child dies before they turn 18, or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy. According to GOV.UK, you get two weeks of leave for each child. You can take the two weeks together, as two separate weeks, or take only one week, and the leave must finish within 56 weeks of the death or stillbirth. A week means the number of days you normally work in a week.
The leave is a day-one right: it does not matter how long you have worked for your employer, as long as you are an employee. Parents, the partner of a parent, adoptive parents, parents through surrogacy and some people who had day-to-day care of the child can qualify.
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower, under the HMRC rates for 2026 to 2027, which apply from 6 April 2026. To get the pay you need at least 26 weeks of continuous employment with your employer and average earnings of at least £129 a week over an eight-week period. Tax and National Insurance are deducted in the usual way.
The notice rules are deliberately light. In the first eight weeks after the death, you only have to tell your employer before you would normally start work on the first day of leave, and a phone call, voicemail, text or email is enough. From week 9 to week 56, give at least one week's notice. For the pay, ask in writing within 28 days of the first day of the week you are claiming for.
If your partner dies within the first year after your child's birth or adoption, a separate right called bereaved partner's paternity leave can apply. Acas explains that it covers deaths on or after 6 April 2026 and gives up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave, taken in one block, as a day-one right.
What is changing with bereavement leave in April 2027?
Parliament has passed a wider right. Section 18 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 turns parental bereavement leave into a broader "bereavement leave" in England, Scotland and Wales, but the detailed rules still need regulations and the new right is not in force yet. In its government response published on 22 September 2026, the government said the regulations will bring it into force in April 2027.
As planned in that response, the new leave will be unpaid, up to two weeks (pro rata for part-time staff) and a day-one right. It will cover the death of a spouse, civil partner or committed partner, a parent, an adult child or a sibling, including step, half, adoptive, kinship and foster relationships. It will also cover pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including miscarriage, termination and loss after IVF embryo transfer. Leave will have to be taken within 56 weeks, notice rules will mirror Parental Bereavement Leave, and no evidence will be required. Until April 2027, the current rules above still apply, so check GOV.UK nearer the time for the final details.
What is compassionate leave and is it paid?
Compassionate leave is the name many employers use for time off after a death or a serious family emergency. It is not a separate legal right: it comes from your contract, staff handbook or bereavement policy. Acas says a good policy should state when leave applies, how much is given and whether it is paid, and that it may be called compassionate, bereavement or special leave.
Acas notes that many employers offer paid bereavement leave. Policies vary: some give more days for a partner or child, and some extend leave to grandparents, in-laws or close friends. If there is no policy, Acas suggests you and your employer agree the type of leave, how much and whether it is paid, and confirm it in writing. Employers must also avoid discrimination: Acas gives the example that refusing time off to attend a religious ceremony could amount to religion or belief discrimination. Practice varies widely between faiths and families, so if your community holds a funeral very quickly, or marks a mourning period, it is worth explaining that early.
How do you ask your employer for bereavement leave?
Keep it simple. Contact your manager or HR as soon as you can through the usual absence route, or ask a relative or friend to do it for you. You do not have to share details you would rather keep private: Acas notes that it is up to you how much you tell them about the death.
Say who has died and roughly how much time you think you need, even if it is a first estimate.
Ask what your bereavement or compassionate leave policy offers and whether it is paid.
Mention the funeral date if you know it, and any travel involved.
Say how and how often you would like to be contacted, and whether colleagues should be told.
Ask about an employee assistance programme if your organisation has one.
If you are also handling the practical side, our guide to what to do when someone dies sets out the first steps, including how to register the death. For questions about your leave and pay, the Acas helpline can be reached through the Acas contact page.
Are the rules different in Northern Ireland?
Yes. Employment law in Northern Ireland is separate, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes above apply to England, Scotland and Wales only. Northern Ireland has its own right to time off for dependants: nidirect says that if a dependant dies, you can take time off to make funeral arrangements and attend the funeral, unpaid unless your employer chooses to pay, and that one or two days should be enough in most cases, with a longer reasonable absence agreed for a funeral overseas.
Northern Ireland has also moved first on pregnancy loss. For bereavements on or after 6 April 2026, nidirect explains that parental bereavement leave and pay there cover the death of a child under 18, a stillbirth after 24 weeks and, from 6 April 2026, miscarriage before 24 weeks, with up to two weeks of leave from your first day of employment.
How do you return to work after a bereavement?
Grief rarely fits neatly into a fixed number of days, and Acas notes that there is no right or wrong way to grieve and that grief can affect people at different times. Before you go back, Acas suggests talking to your employer about when you expect to be ready, any worries about returning, and whether anything has changed, such as new caring responsibilities that might call for flexible working.
A gradual return, lighter duties for a while, or knowing you can step out of a meeting can all make a difference. Our article on grief at work has ideas for those first weeks back, and if grief feels heavier over time, bereavement counselling is available through the NHS and charities.
A message you can adapt for your manager
You do not need to write a long explanation while you are grieving. Use your usual absence route and adapt this starting point:
Someone close to me has died and I need time away from work from [date]. I expect to update you by [date], as arrangements are still being made. Please confirm the leave and pay available under our policy and any information you need. I would prefer contact by [method]. Please check with me before sharing details with colleagues.
This is a communication aid, not a claim that every request has the same legal entitlement. Acas recommends agreeing contact and checking your organisation’s policy. Tell your employer enough to identify the relevant leave route; you can ask someone you trust to make initial contact if needed.
If arranging the funeral is part of your time away, use the funeral-cost planning guide. Keep benefit claims separate from employment leave: Bereavement Support Payment is a different process.
Do I have to decide my return date in the first message?
You may not know immediately. Give an initial estimate where possible and agree when to update your employer. Confirm how leave and pay will be recorded and discuss further time or adjustments if circumstances change. Different statutory leave routes have their own notice rules.
How can you ask for a manageable return to work?
Explain the practical arrangements you would like to discuss, such as a scheduled appointment or a temporary change in contact expectations. Ask what the employer’s policy allows and record what is agreed. You do not need to put your entire family situation into a request for a conversation.
Prepare for the next conversation
Separate time away, pay and flexible arrangements in your questions.
Agree who should contact you and how often.
Set a review date for the arrangement instead of assuming it is permanent.
Related next steps: Plan practical appointments alongside work; Find support if you would like someone to talk to.
Frequently asked questions: Bereavement leave UK
How many days bereavement leave are you entitled to in the UK?
There is no fixed number of days for most bereavements. You can take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off when a dependant dies, and parents get two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave after the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Your contract may give you more.
Is bereavement leave paid in the UK?
Only Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is paid by law, at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower in 2026 to 2027. Other bereavement or compassionate leave is paid only if your employer's policy or contract says so.
Can I get time off for a grandparent's or friend's funeral?
There is no legal right unless the person counts as a dependant, for example because they lived in your household. Many employers still give compassionate leave, so check your policy or ask your manager.
Is the new bereavement leave in force yet?
No. The Employment Rights Act 2025 creates the power, but the government says regulations will bring the new unpaid bereavement leave into force in April 2027. Until then, the current rules apply.
How Solace Care can help
Availability: These guides are freely accessible. The Solace platform currently supports Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. UK-specific features and legal document templates are not yet confirmed. Before signing up, contact support@solace.care to check access and which features are suitable for you.
Use this guide without an account for agreed leave, appointments and practical next steps. If you would also like to explore the app, ask support@solace.care which features are available for your UK needs. Once confirmed, you can create an account. This guide remains available without an account. For email updates, open the optional newsletter form. A newsletter subscription is optional and does not create an app account.
