THE Government has announced new legislation that will entitle bereaved parents to two weeks’ paid bereavement leave says Joanne Holborn, Partner and Head of Employment and Employment Training at Baines Wilson LLP.
The legislation comes after a mother campaigned on the issue after losing her son, Jack. The parental bereavement leave and pay regulations will therefore also be known as ‘Jack’s Law’ in his memory.
The legislation comes in to force on 6 April 2020 and will implement a statutory right to a minimum of two week’s leave for all parents who lose a child under the age of 18 or if a baby is stillborn from 24 weeks of pregnancy.
There is no length of service condition in relation to the leave, although parents will need to have been employed for six months to claim statutory pay for their bereavement period, paid at the same rate as Statutory Paternity Pay. The leave can be taken in a single block or two separate one week blocks in the 56 weeks after the child’s death.
We will be providing a legislation update at our upcoming employment law seminars. Further details can be found below.
If you have any queries in relation to parental and/or bereavement leave, please contact our employment team on 01228 552600 or 01524 548494.
