{"id":698,"date":"2023-09-07T03:55:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T07:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.attendancebot.com\/blog\/?p=698"},"modified":"2025-02-20T08:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T13:22:03","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-bereavement-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.attendancebot.com\/blog\/the-complete-guide-to-bereavement-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Guide to Bereavement Leave for Your Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bereavement is one of life\u2019s toughest moments\u2014emotionally draining, financially stressful, and logistically overwhelming. Yet, many companies lack a compassionate approach to helping employees during this challenging time. The good news? Setting up a bereavement leave policy is simpler than you think, and it can make a world of difference for your team. In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a policy that supports your employees when they need it most, offering peace of mind and a kinder workplace culture. Plus, discover our favorite TED Talks to help your team cope with grief.<\/span><\/p>\n

We know how this works because we’ve helped tens of thousands of organizations set up this and many other leave policies using AttendanceBot<\/a> – a chat-based HR app that lives inside Slack and Microsoft Teams. If you’re interested in quickly building policies and managing time-off requests through a platform you’re already familiar with, give it a try on Slack<\/a> or Teams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And for help with the personal side of bereavement, scroll to the bottom to see our 3 favorite TED talks on how to deal with grief.<\/p>\n

What is Bereavement Leave?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bereavement leave (also known as compassionate leave or grievance leave) is time off taken by an employee following the death of a relative or friend. Some companies even provide time-off for their employees when their pet passes away.<\/p>\n

Despite the universal life experience, very few countries have formal federal laws for bereavement leave. Even without legal mandate, our recommendation is to be compassionate and generous to provide employees with adequate time to deal with their loss.<\/p>\n

While there are no rules in place that mandate bereavement leaves to be paid, HRs need to consider how sensitive this time is for the concerned employee and consider making it a paid time-off to let them grieve their loss and come back to work with a better headspace.<\/p>\n

Do You Need a Bereavement Leave Policy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Although companies aren’t required to provide bereavement leave to their employees, it’s important to recognize the distress your employee experiences in this difficult time. Forcing them to come to work or take ‘leave without pay’ would make this grieving period even harder.<\/p>\n

By giving them paid time off work, you show the team that you care about their wellbeing and will treat them with compassion. And you will not be alone as 94% of U.S. employers offer paid bereavement leave<\/a> through a separate policy or as part of a paid time off or paid sick time plan.\u00a0This small addition to your overall leave policy can help you foster a humane work environment.<\/p>\n

FAQs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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1. How many days of leave entitlement should I provide?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The most common is between 3 to 5 days. But, it\u2019s important to take into account different cultural and religious customs that employees from different faiths would have. For instance, in Judaism, the family of the deceased mourn for 7 days. It might be a good idea to use the formal policy as a mere guideline and let the line manager have the final on how many days would make sense on a case by case basis.<\/p>\n

2. Is this a paid leave?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

In some companies, a bereavement leave is simply considered to be a sick day and therefore it would be a paid time off per the company’s overall policy.\u00a0 Some others treat bereavement leave as a PTO or vacation day and yet others make it a distinct type of leave, providing an additional 3 to 5 days in the event of each loss. In most cases, it is a paid leave but again that is not required. Employees who want to take a longer leave can use their other paid leaves or take a leave without pay.<\/p>\n

As a general rule, most companies do not roll over the bereavement leave from one year to the next, unlike other types of time-off like PTO\/ sick days. This is done so that employees don\u2019t end up accumulating unused bereavement leave. Having said that in case of multiple events of bereavement, most companies do let employees use the recommended time-off for each event.<\/p>\n

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3. Who is considered an immediate family for bereavement leaves?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Typically immediate family consists of parents, in-law, children, siblings, spouse, (unmarried) domestic partner, guardian, or grandparent.<\/p>\n

Some companies even permit employees to take a day off when an employee loses their aunt, uncle, cousin, or a close friend. You should also consider providing leave when your employee loses their pet. Again the advice here is to defer the specifics to the line manager who would be able to make the best judgement call.<\/p>\n

4. Is bereavement leave required by law?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Most countries have no laws about providing mandatory bereavement leave. Employers can maintain specific bereavement leave policies and accommodate these leave days according to their own discretion.<\/p>\n

But countries like France have laws that mandate 3 days of grievance leave for the death of a spouse or partner and 5 days of leave for the death of a child.<\/p>\n

5. Should employees show proof of death when applying for it?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Generally speaking no, but it depends on your preference. You can add instructions within your process document asking employees to show an obituary, funeral program, or death certificate. However, since the timelines will be constrained, you can just ask your employee to provide details of the deceased\u2014 their name, date of death, and the employee’s relationship to the deceased.<\/p>\n

6. What if an employee asks for a longer time off than specified in my company\u2019s policy?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Some employees may request for more leave days for bereavement depending on whether they have to travel to another place for the funeral, have long religious ceremonies to attend, or have funeral arrangement responsibilities to handle. You can always ask the employee to take other time-offs, paid or unpaid, to extend their time of mourning and getting the paperwork in order.<\/p>\n

It is ok to let the HR or the line manager treat this on a case by case basis and be flexible with the rules.<\/p>\n

7. Should managers be encouraged to attend the funeral services of the employee\u2019s deceased relative?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Attending the funeral service is based on the manager\u2019s relationship with the employee. Some employees would feel touched that their manager took the time to pay their respects while others might prefer privacy.<\/p>\n

If the manager has a close relationship with the concerned employee, just visiting the employee can be a nice gesture. We do not recommend you have a policy on this question either way and let the decision reside with each team member.<\/p>\n

Bereavement Leave Policies in Different Countries<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Despite no laws in place, each country has its own common practices when giving employees leave for bereavement. Here\u2019s how bereavement leave looks like in different countries:<\/p>\n

\"bereavement<\/p>\n

United States:<\/strong> The US does not have federal laws that mandate bereavement leave, though a handful of states (California, Illinois, Maryland, Oregen, Washington) do require bereavement leave to be offered to companies exceeding a specific size (ranging from 5 to 50 employees). Even without these protections, it’s most common for employers to grant 3 days paid leave for close family members.<\/p>\n

United Kingdom:<\/strong> The UK requires up to 2 weeks of paid leave for parental bereavement (death of a child) but does not protect other forms of bereavement.<\/p>\n

New Zealand:<\/strong> Leave is given based on closeness, cultural responsibilities, and logistical responsibilities. The typical leave period of bereavement is 3 days.<\/p>\n

Spain:<\/strong> 2 days leave is given to all workers for the death of first- and second-degree relatives and in situations that require travel to attend the funeral, employees are given up to 4 days of leave.<\/p>\n

Singapore:<\/strong> There is no statutory compassionate leave entitlement in Singapore. Bereavement leave is only dependent on a contractual agreement between the employee and employer. Typical contracts allow 3 to 5 days of leave but companies like VMware have a generous compassionate leave policy of 4 weeks or 20 working days.<\/p>\n

South Africa:<\/strong> Covered under Family Responsibility Leave, 3 days of paid leave is given to employees but only if they have 4 continuous months of employment, have worked 4 days a week and when the death is of a close relative.<\/p>\n

China:<\/strong> Rules for such leave are based on local guidelines. Typically, 1 to 3 days of paid leave is given to all Chinese employees.<\/p>\n

France:<\/strong> Employees get 3 days of paid bereavement leave and for deceased children, employees get 5 days of paid leave.<\/p>\n

India:<\/strong> India has no legal requirements for bereavement leaves but many firms provide 7 days of grieving leave. Multinational companies tend to have a more generous policy.<\/p>\n

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Creating the Formal Policy Document<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Having a formal policy in place makes it easier for employees to apply for bereavement leave without scrambling to figure out the procedure. It also shows your employees that you have policies in place that help them during their time of distress.<\/p>\n

When creating the policy document, you can start by considering the following<\/p>\n