• 28 Feb 2022
• •
• < 1 min read

Employment Alert – Acas publishes new bereavement advice

Acas publishes new bereavement advice

What’s happening?

Acas has published new advice to help employers handle staff bereavement at work and understand an employee’s legal right to time off. Acas advises employers to be sensitive to individual needs, consider the person’s physical and emotional wellbeing and recognise that grief affects everyone differently.

Why is this important?

Employees have the legal right to unpaid time off for dependants following the death of a parent, partner or someone they live with or care for. A parent may be entitled to parental bereavement leave which gives a right of up to 2 weeks’ time off if a child under the age of 18 dies. A working parent may also be entitled to parental bereavement pay if they meet certain eligibility criteria.

Acas’s full advice covers:

• Leave and pay when someone dies
• If an employee’s child dies
• If an employee or their partner has a stillbirth or miscarriage
• Parental bereavement leave and pay
• Supporting an employee after a death
• If someone at work dies
• The benefits of a bereavement policy

What should you do?

1. Check that your policies reflect the Acas guidance which you can find here.
2. Consider updating your policies if they do not reflect the guidance.

If you need any help updating your policies then do not hesitate to get in touch.