Entitlement:
The upcoming changes will entitle employees who lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth from the 24th week of pregnancy, to two weeks’ unpaid leave, as a right from day one of their employment. The period of leave may be taken during 56 weeks after the death or stillbirth.
Eligibility:
It will be available to only employees and as noted above, it will not require a period of minimum service. The affected employee(s) will need to have suffered the loss of a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth from the 24th week of pregnancy.
- Adoptive parents
- Perspective adopters
- Intended parents under a surrogacy arrangementent
It is key to note that notice does not need to be provided in writing. The employee must give the employer details of the date of death or still-birth, the date on which they seek to start their leave and whether they intend on taking a week or the full 2 week period.
- Best practice would dictate that it is the ideal position to have a policy in place dealing with parental bereavement leave and pay.
- Where there are other ancillary polices such as a Compassionate Leave Policy, it would be advisable to check these and ensure that they are updated accordingly in relation to leave and pay arrangements.