New statutory bereavement leave: how will it work in practice?

The government has now published its response to the consultation on the new right. We now know more about who will qualify, how much leave employees can take, when they can take it and what notice they will need to give.

What are the current rights?

The existing statutory framework provides some protection for bereaved employees in certain circumstances. 

Statutory parental bereavement leave gives employed parents the right to take time off following the death of a child under the age of 18, including a child who is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Eligible employees can take up to two weeks’ leave, either as a single two-week period or as two separate one-week periods, provided they meet the relevant notice requirements. 

Since 6 April 2026, employees have also had a statutory right to bereaved partner’s paternity leave if a child’s primary carer dies within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption placement. 

Employees also have a statutory right to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off during working hours to deal with certain emergencies involving dependants. This can include taking necessary action following the death of a dependant. A dependant includes a spouse or civil partner, child, parent, or someone who lives in the same household as the employee, other than as an employee, tenant, lodger or boarder.

Employers may also offer contractual or discretionary bereavement leave in addition to these statutory rights. 

What is the new right to statutory bereavement leave?

From April 2027, the ERA 2025 will give employees a new day-one statutory right to unpaid bereavement leave following the loss of a loved one. 

Who will be able to take bereavement leave?

Employees will be able to take bereavement leave following the death of an immediate family member or a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. 

For the death of an immediate family member, the right will cover:  

• spouses and civil partners
• partners in a committed long-term relationship, whether or not they live together
• parents
• adult children and
• siblings. 

This includes biological, adoptive, step and half-relations, as well as equivalent parental relationships where an employee was raised under kinship or foster care arrangements.

Pregnancy loss before 24 weeks

The government recognises that pregnancy loss can affect not only the person who was pregnant, but also their partner and others who expected to become a parent. Bereavement leave following pregnancy loss will therefore also be available to:

• the person who was pregnant
• their spouse or civil partner
• the other parent
• their partner, where they are in a committed long-term relationship
• an intended co-parent; and
• intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement

The right will cover all types of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including:

• miscarriage before 24 weeks, including molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies and chemical pregnancies
• all terminations, and
• IVF embryo transfer loss 

Some consultation respondents called for the right to extend further, including to IVF embryo loss pre-transfer, other forms of unsuccessful fertilisation treatment and situations where no death occurs but people still experience a sense of loss. The government recognised that these circumstances can cause grief but confirmed that they fall outside the scope of the ERA 2025 and the new right will not cover them. 

When and how can employees take bereavement leave?

Eligible employees will be able to take up to two weeks' leave, prorated according to their usual working pattern. The entitlement will reflect the employee's average working pattern over two weeks. 

For example, an employee who works Monday and Tuesday will be entitled to four working days of leave. An employee who works Monday to Friday will be entitled to 10 working days. 

Employees can start their leave on the date of the death or pregnancy loss, or when they become aware of it. 

Employees will not have to take the leave as one continuous block. They will be able to take individual days of leave when they need them, as long as they take the leave within 56 weeks of the death or the date they became aware of it. 

Do employees need to give notice?

The notice requirements will depend on when the employee takes the leave: 

• During the first eight week: the employee must notify their employer before they are due to start work on the day they want to take leave or, if that is not reasonably possible, as soon as they can afterwards
• After the first eight weeks: the employee must give their employer one week's notice of the day they want to take as leave. 

Employees can give notice in any form, allowing them to contact their employer in the way that best suits their circumstances.  

They will not have to provide evidence to take the leave. 

What should employers do now?

With more detail now available, you should review your current approach to bereavement leave, including any enhanced entitlements you already offer and consider how these compare with the new statutory right. 

You should also have an appropriate policy in place before the new right takes effect, so that employees understand what leave they can take if they experience a bereavement and how to request it. 

Our newsletters

We publish monthly employment and education newsletters. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list, please let me know.