New statutory bereavement leave rights will give employees more time and flexibility to deal with the death of a close family member – extending legal protection to relationships that have previously fallen outside the rules.
The Government has confirmed plans to introduce a new statutory right to two weeks’ bereavement leave from April 2027, marking a significant change in how bereavement is recognised in UK employment law.
The new right will apply from the first day of employment and will cover the death of a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling. Importantly, the definition will also recognise step, half, adopted, kinship care and foster relationships.
For employers, it establishes a statutory baseline where, outside existing parental bereavement rights, time off following the death of a close relative has largely depended on individual workplace policies.
A more flexible approach to grief
One of the most significant aspects of the new entitlement is when and how the leave can be taken.
The two weeks will not have to be taken consecutively. Employees will be able to take the leave as individual days, or in blocks, at any point during the 56 weeks following the bereavement.
That flexibility recognises something that can easily be overlooked in workplace policies: grief does not necessarily fit neatly into the days immediately following a death.
Samantha Langford, founder of Unspoken Exhale CIC and Gaia Workplace Wellbeing, welcomed the change in a LinkedIn post, highlighting the inclusion of siblings and adult children, as well as step, half and adopted relationships.
She also pointed to the importance of being able to use the leave over 56 weeks, recognising the complexity of grief and the fact that difficult periods can emerge long after the initial loss.
No requirement to prove a bereavement
Another important change is that employees will not be required to provide evidence of their loss in order to take the leave.
For Langford, this is particularly significant. She has described hearing repeatedly from people who have been asked to provide documentation following a bereavement, arguing that people should not have to prove their loss in order to be given time to grieve.
Under the new rules, employees taking bereavement leave will not need to provide evidence of the death. Those exercising the statutory right will also be protected from detriment or dismissal.
The notice requirements are also deliberately light-touch. During the first eight weeks following a bereavement, employees will only need to notify their employer as soon as reasonably practicable. After that, one week’s notice will generally be required.
A baseline, not the end of the conversation
The government had already confirmed the new rights will also apply to parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy. The right also covers women and their partners who experience a pregnancy loss, including miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers. It will also apply to the other biological parent, or intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.
The new entitlement will be unpaid, although employers can of course provide more generous arrangements through their own bereavement or compassionate leave policies. The Government’s announcement also confirms that the new rules will sit alongside existing parental bereavement leave for parents who lose a child under 18 or experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks.
That distinction matters. A statutory minimum can provide consistency and protection, but it does not necessarily reflect what every employee will need following a significant loss.
For employers, the changes therefore provide a useful prompt to review existing bereavement policies and consider whether they offer the flexibility, pay and wider support that employees may need.
They also reinforce a broader point about workplace culture: supporting someone through bereavement is not simply about giving them time away from work. It is about recognising that grief can affect people long after they return.
As Langford put it, the changes recognise the “huge impact” grief can have on people’s lives and their ability to work.
The new statutory right is expected to come into force in April 2027. For employers, there is an opportunity to look beyond the legal minimum now – and consider what a genuinely compassionate approach to bereavement looks like in practice.
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