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Introduce a legal right to paid bereavement leave

Submitted by Alice Cutler on Thursday 14th November 2024

Published on Wednesday 4th December 2024

Current status: Closed

Closed: Wednesday 4th June 2025

Signatures: 3,101

Relevant Departments

Tagged with

Australia ~ Child ~ Employers ~ Entitled ~ EXIST ~ France ~ Hanging ~ Law ~ Loss ~ mentalhealth ~ Quality ~ weeks ~ work

Petition Action

Introduce a legal right to paid bereavement leave

Petition Details

There is currently no legal right to paid bereavement leave (time off work when a loved one passes away) in the UK, except parental bereavement leave. Working parents who suffer the loss of a child are currently entitled to two weeks of statutory paid leave.

Additional Information

Although some work places do have a voluntary policy, the quality of these policies varies hugely and ultimately some employers do not have one.

Introducing a legal right to paid bereavement leave could give employees the right to much needed time off when a loved one passes away without the financial stress hanging over them at an already difficult time. Not having this time off when required can be hugely detrimental to people’s mental health at the time and later down the line. It would also put us in line with other countries such as France and Australia where these laws already exist.


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