In brief
The UK Government is introducing a statutory day-one right to Bereavement Leave, providing employees with a legal entitlement to take time away from work following a loss. On 22 September 2026 the UK Government published its response to the consultation on the new right ("Response"), confirming key aspects of the new entitlement including eligibility, timing and notice requirements. Eligible employees will be able to take up to two weeks' leave following the death of a loved one or a qualifying pregnancy loss, pro-rated to reflect their usual working pattern. The new right is due to come into force in April 2027.
Key takeaways
- Review (and where necessary, amend) existing bereavement and/or compassionate leave policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the new statutory framework. Consider implementing a framework for recording and managing leave requests.
- Train managers on the scope of the new entitlement including: (i) who can take the leave; (ii) how much leave is available; (iii) the informal nature of the notice requirements; and (iv) the broad definition of a qualifying pregnancy loss.
- Decide whether to offer an enhanced arrangement. The Government has set a statutory minimum position, notably that the leave would be unpaid. The Response, however, encourages employers to consider going beyond the baseline position. Employers may therefore wish to offer an extended period of leave and/or offer full or part pay for all or part of the leave.
- Assess how the new entitlement will interplay with existing family-related leave, compassionate leave, sickness absence and sick pay policies.
- Consider ways to foster an inclusive culture, where employees feel safe disclosing a bereavement or qualifying pregnancy loss and seeking support.
In more detail
Background
The UK already has a rich tapestry of family-friendly leave entitlements, including the existing statutory right to Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Shared Parental Leave, Carer's Leave, Neonatal Care Leave, Parental Leave, Parental and Parental Bereavement Leave, together with the right to request flexible working and the right to take emergency time off for dependants.
However statutory Parental Bereavement Leave is currently limited to parents whose child under the age of 18 has died or who experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. As a result, there has been a gap in UK policy whereby employees experiencing the loss of a loved one and/or early pregnancy loss do not have minimum rights to time off, to grieve.
The UK Government sought to address that gap through the Employment Rights Act 2025, which introduced a new statutory, day-one right to unpaid Bereavement Leave. The consultation sought views from employers and employees on how the new right should operate in practice. Interestingly, there was a high level of engagement - with over 1,900 responses gathered as part of the Response – which suggests that this may be a key area of focus for both employers and employees.
Eligibility
The new Bereavement Leave will be available from the first day of employment and apply to two groups of employees:
- Employees who experience a bereavement of their spouse, partner (cohabiting and non-cohabiting), parents, adult children, siblings (biological adopted, step and half), and equivalent parental relationships for those raised in kinship arrangements or by foster carers.
- Employees who experience all types of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. This will include all miscarriages before 24 weeks including molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies and chemical pregnancies (non-exhaustive); all terminations; IVF embryo transfer loss, meaning the unsuccessful outcome of transferring a fertilized embryo into the uterus during IVF treatment.
The guidelines are intended to balance the needs of the employees and the employers whilst reflecting modern family dynamics and caring responsibilities. The Response also recognizes that there may be unique circumstances where an employee experiences loss that falls outside of the statutory definition. For example, an employee may experience IVF embryo loss pre-transfer or, experience the loss of someone they deem to be either "chosen" family (i.e. a relationship akin to that of an immediate family member). Employers are therefore encouraged to speak with bereaved employees and consider going beyond the statutory minimum, where appropriate.
Notice and evidence requirements
The proposed notice requirements are deliberately informal.
A request for Bereveament Leave must be sent as soon as reasonably practicable. This means the same day if taken within the first eight weeks of bereavement and one week's notice thereafter. All forms of notice are acceptable whether in writing (WhatsApp, email, text, Teams message) or in person (video call or phone call will suffice), depending on what the employee can manage at the time.
Importantly, employees will not need to provide evidence of a bereavement or any qualifying pregnancy loss to their employer in order to take the statutory leave. Line managers, HR and anyone who may be responsible for approving such Bereavement Leave requests, should therefore be aware that requests may be received at short notice, include information of a personal nature and require a quick and clear response.
Employers should therefore handle requests carefully. Requiring unnecessary formalities, refusing requests without proper consideration, demanding evidence where none is required, or subjecting employees to adverse treatment because they sought to exercise their statutory rights may expose employers to legal and employee relations risks. Employees may submit grievances and/or raise allegations that they have been subjected to a detriment and/or automatically unfairly dismissed because they sought to exercise a statutory right.
It is important to note that bereavement, in itself, does not amount to a protected characteristic however depending on the circumstances, refusing Bereavement Leave and/or dismissing an employee because they requested and/or took Bereavement Leave could overlap with another protected characteristic and give rise to broader discrimination, detriment or dismissal claims.
Timing
Eligible employees will be able to take up to two weeks' leave, pro-rated to reflect their usual working pattern. The length of leave will be the same regardless of the type of qualifying loss experienced.
Bereavement Leave can be taken within 56 weeks of the death or qualifying pregnancy loss, or knowledge of the death or qualifying pregnancy loss.
Employers that choose to offer enhanced terms should be mindful that any eligibility and/or timing provisions are applied consistently and do not inadvertently create distinctions between different forms of grief.
Interaction with sick leave
It remains to be seen how widely employees will use the new entitlement in practice. The broad eligibility criteria means that a significant portion of the workforce is likely to have access to the entitlement at some point during the course of employment. However, to date, employees who have experienced early pregnancy loss before 24 weeks may continue to rely on paid sickness absence where appropriate or on existing compassionate leave policies (particularly if such policies offer enhanced or more favourable levels of support). In the absence of an enhanced bereavement leave or compassionate leave policy, statutory sick pay may remain the more attractive option from a financial perspective.
Practical impact
For many employers, implementing the new entitlement is unlikely to create significant operational hurdles. Whilst the eligibility is broad, the entitlement itself is relatively short and remains unpaid. The greater challenge may be addressing workplace cultures, increasing awareness around qualifying pregnancy loss and ensuring managers respond consistently, correctly and sensitively when Bereavement Leave requests arise. In practice, employees faced with an emergency, expected loss or unexpected loss, are unlikely to identify the precise statutory entitlement they wish to rely upon or the company policy they think should apply. Employers should therefore ensure line managers and HR professionals understand how different family-related and compassionate leave statutory rights and any enhanced policies interact, to ensure employees receive the support they are entitled to.
From a planning perspective, employers should also consider how to manage unplanned absences at all levels across the organisation, particularly if enhanced bereavement leave and/or pay may be offered.
The Response acknowledges that there is a possibility for bereavement entitlements to be abused on the basis of the flexible notification requirements. The UK Government will continue to explore ways in which these potential problems can be mitigated either within the regulations or via other policy interventions. While employers may find it difficult to investigate potential misuse in such sensitive circumstances, policies may appropriately remind employees that deliberate misuse of leave entitlements could constitute misconduct and be addressed under disciplinary procedures.
We await further guidance detailing specific responsibilities of employers and employees, which is expected before the April 2027 implementation date. In the meantime, employers may wish to develop an interim strategy for handling bereavement-related absences and assessing whether existing policies are sufficient. Although employees have no legal right to insist upon treatment in accordance with a regime that has not yet come into force, many may already be aware of the forthcoming changes and expect employers to begin adopting the principles underpinning the new entitlement. Organisations that take proactive steps to prepare now may be better placed to support employees effectively and reduce legal, operational and employee relations risks when the legislation comes into effect.
For specific advice on this development and to help your business navigate the changes, please get in touch with your usual Baker McKenzie contact
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Jessica-Alice Curtis, Senior Associate, has contributed to this legal update.