Navigating Bereavement at Work: A Guide for UK Employees and Employers

Bereavement affects everyone at some point in their lives, yet many workplaces struggle to handle it with the compassion and clarity employees need. Losing a loved one can have a profound emotional impact, and for working people, managing grief alongside professional responsibilities is a significant challenge.

This article explores what employees and employers in the UK need to know about bereavement at work, including legal rights, company responsibilities, and ways to support colleagues experiencing loss.

Bereavement Leave: What Are Your Rights?

In the UK, employees have the right to take reasonable time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants, which includes time off following the death of a dependant. However, this is generally unpaid unless a contract, policy, or local agreement states otherwise.

Under the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act 2018, bereaved parents are entitled to:

• Two weeks’ leave following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

• Leave can be taken as two consecutive weeks or two separate one-week blocks within 56 weeks of the death.

• Eligible employees may receive Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) if they meet certain conditions.

For other close relatives (such as a parent, spouse, or sibling), there is no statutory entitlement to paid bereavement leave, although many employers offer compassionate leave as part of their policies.

It’s important for employees to check their contract or staff handbook and speak to their HR department to understand what support is available.

Supporting Bereaved Colleagues

Even if your organisation has a policy in place, bereavement is deeply personal, and the way grief affects individuals can vary greatly. Managers and colleagues can help by:

• Being empathetic and flexible: Don’t expect a bereaved colleague to return to “normal” straight away.

• Offering practical help: Adjust workloads temporarily if possible, and allow flexible working where appropriate.

• Respecting privacy but staying in touch: Check in regularly but sensitively, and let the employee take the lead in discussing their situation.

• Signposting support services: Encourage bereaved employees to access counselling or support groups, such as Cruse Bereavement Support or their organisation’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), if available.

Balancing Business Needs and Compassion

For employers, managing bereavement compassionately while keeping business running smoothly can feel challenging. However, a supportive approach helps retain staff, foster loyalty, and create a caring workplace culture.

Key considerations include:

• Clear bereavement policies: Ensure staff understand what leave they are entitled to and how to request it.

• Training managers: Equip leaders with the skills to handle bereavement sensitively and fairly.

• Offering flexibility: Recognise that grief doesn’t end when an employee returns to work — consider flexible hours, remote working, or phased returns if needed.

Here’s a detailed overview of the new UK miscarriage bereavement leave laws and what they mean for both employees and employers:

What’s Changed Under the Employment Rights Bill?

New Legal Right to Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage

• From 2027, UK law will grant protected bereavement leave for employees who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy  .

• This leave is a day-one right, meaning no minimum service period required.

Duration & Pay

• The initial proposal provides for at least one week of leave (unpaid by default).

• Public consultation set for autumn 2025 will determine whether leave is unpaid, partly paid, or extended, and explore evidence requirements  .

• Some legal commentators anticipate a minimum of five days paid leave, though this is yet to be confirmed.

Who Qualifies?

• Applies to both the birthing person and their partner  .

• Extends to pregnancy loss from any cause before 24 weeks, including IVF implantation failure or medical abortions.

Relation to Existing Bereavement Leave

• Complements existing rights under the Parental Bereavement Leave scheme, which currently applies to stillbirths (after 24 weeks) and child deaths up to age 18.

What Employers Need to Do Now

While this law comes into effect in 2027, employers can prepare now:

1. Review bereavement and leave policies to include pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.

2. Communicate sensitively, avoiding clinical or dismissive language.

3. Ensure confidentiality—only involve HR or trusted managers.

4. Plan for flexibility, including phased returns or remote working options.

5. Support partners equally, recognising their emotional needs.

Why This Matters

• Around 250,000 UK pregnancies end before 24 weeks each year.

• Early pregnancy loss has a major emotional toll, and not recognising it legally has felt like a postcode lottery.

• Campaigners, including the Miscarriage Association, Simba, and MP Sarah Owen, hailed the changes as a “ground‑breaking step” that will reduce stigma.

  
  

Final Thoughts

Bereavement is a natural but difficult part of life. For UK employees, understanding your rights is crucial, and for employers, supporting staff through grief is a mark of a compassionate, modern workplace.

By creating an environment where employees feel supported during a bereavement, organisations can help ease one of life’s toughest challenges while fostering trust, loyalty, and wellbeing.