Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020

The Government has published two sets of Regulations that will bring into force the right to paid bereavement leave for parents on the death of a child under 18.

The Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020 will introduce the right to leave, while the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) Regulations 2020 will detail the right to be paid during such leave.

This new right will come into force with effect from 6 April 2020. The Government has announced that the new right will mean that an employee who loses a child under 18, or suffers a still birth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, will be entitled to two weeks' statutory leave to be taken in one block or as two separate blocks of a week.

This benefit will apply to employees who have at least 26 weeks' service and meet the minimum earnings criteria. The Statutory Parental Bereavement Leave will be paid at the same rate as Statutory Paternity Pay, which from April 2020 will be £151.20 per week or 90% of weekly earnings if lower.

This legislation should be welcomed by employers as it provides a legislative basis on which to support employees going through such traumatic and life changing circumstances. It will be open to employers to consider if they want to agree to pay more than the statutory minimum, i.e. to consider paying an employee their full pay for a specified period of time.

This article is for general guidance only. It provides useful information in a concise form. Action should not be taken without obtaining specific legal advice.