Policy Adopted on 14/01/2021 / Revised on 04/07/2023 and will be reviewed Q2 2024 – Revision 2.0
1. Policy Statement
The purpose of this policy is to set out the church’s stance on employee entitlements to parental bereavement leave which are effective from 6 April 2020.
2. Reason for Policy
As a church, we are fully committed to providing support to employees who experience loss in their lives and, in particular, understands that the loss of a child, or a stillbirth, can be one of the most harrowing experiences of someone’s life.
It is important to acknowledge that the content of this policy may feel dispassionate and procedural, particularly at such a difficult time. This is mainly due to the legal requirements that need to be followed. The main aim is for this policy to explain your rights to time off, pay during time off and other support offered.
3. Who Should Read this Policy?
- All staff members
- Board of Trustees
4. Resources
- This policy is part of the Staff Handbook found on The Way We Work platform
- https://twww.revivechurch.uk
5. The Policy
Eligibility
Parental bereavement leave is available from day one of employment.
It is available to employees following the loss of a child under the age of 18.
You may take parental bereavement leave if you fall into any one of the following categories:
- A ‘natural’ parent
- An adoptive parent, and those with whom a child has been placed under the ‘foster to adopt’ scheme, provided the placement is ongoing
- A ‘natural’ parent where the child has been adopted but a Court Order exists to allow the ‘natural’ parent to have contact with the child
- An employee who is living with a child who has entered Great Britain from overseas in relation to whom has received official notification that they are eligible to adopt
- An intended parent under a surrogacy arrangement where it was expected that a parental order would be made
- A ‘parent in fact’ which is someone in whose home the child has been living for a period of at least four weeks before the bereavement and has had day to day responsibility for the child, subject to exceptions. This category includes guardians and foster parents but does not include paid carers
- The partner of anyone who falls into the above categories, where they live in an enduring family relationship with the child and their parent.
In addition, parents who suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy are entitled to take parental bereavement leave.
Length of leave and how it may be taken
A total of two weeks may be taken as parental bereavement leave and you may choose to take leave as:
- A single block of one week
- A single block of two weeks
- Two separate blocks of one week
Leave may start on any day of the week and must be taken in whole weeks. It may be taken at any time in the 56-week period following the bereavement.
If you have suffered a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, you are still entitled to take your full entitlement to maternity and paternity leave, provided you were eligible to take maternity or paternity leave in the first place, in addition to parental bereavement leave. Parental bereavement leave cannot be taken at the same time as maternity or paternity leave.
Where more than one child dies or is stillborn, you are entitled to two weeks of parental bereavement leave in relation to each child.
Letting us know
We understand that this will be such a difficult time for you and that letting us know might not be a priority at first. We want to support you as much as possible during this time.
There are a couple of statutory requirements as to when the leave should be taken and how you can let us know about it, please see these below:
Leave to be taken within the first 56 days of the bereavement
We ask you please let your manager know either on the day you were due to start work or as soon as you are reasonably able to, to let us know when the leave will start and whether you will be taking one or two weeks.
Leave to be taken later than the first 56 days since the bereavement
You need to give one week’s advance notice of taking parental bereavement leave to your manager to let us know when the leave will start and whether you will be taking one or two weeks.
Cancelling or changing leave dates
You can cancel a period of leave that you have already told us about, as long as the period of leave has not already started. If you wish to cancel a period of leave which was to begin within the first 56 days of the bereavement, you can cancel it by letting us know by your normal start time on the day that leave was originally due to start.
To cancel leave which was to begin later than 56 days after the bereavement, you should let us know no later than one week prior to the intended start date.
You can also change the start date of leave by following the above process.
Payment during leave
You will qualify for statutory parental bereavement pay during leave if you meet the following criteria:
- You have been continuously employed with us for at least 26 weeks by the week prior to the week in which the child has passed away
- Your normal average weekly earnings are not less than the lower earnings limit relevant for national insurance purposes
- You are still employed by us on the date the child has passed away.
Payment will be made at the rate set by the Government each year or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).
In order to receive statutory parental bereavement pay, you must provide us with notice of this and the following information within 28 days, or as soon as is reasonably practicable, of the first day of parental bereavement leave:
- The child’s name
- The date of the bereavement or stillbirth
We will then confirm your eligibility.
Terms and conditions during leave
During parental bereavement leave, you remain entitled to receive your normal contractual terms and conditions of employment that you would have received had you not taken this leave, with the exception of remuneration. This will include contractual benefits, subject to the terms of these benefits.
Right to return
Upon your return to work, you are entitled to return to the same job, with the same terms and conditions, in which you were employed before your absence unless:
- the period of leave you have taken is more than 26 weeks when added to any other period of statutory leave including maternity, paternity, adoption leave etc in relation to the same child and
- it is not reasonably practicable for you to return to the same job.
On your first day back to work, your manager will set time aside to hold an informal meeting with you to discuss any arrangements regarding your return to work and any additional support we may be able to offer you.
Counselling
Care for the Family, along with other organisations and charities, offer support and advice, as well as a befriending service, to parents who have lost a child. We encourage you to look at their website if you feel you would like to talk to someone about your loss:
Flexible working
We appreciate that a temporary period of flexible working may be beneficial to employees after they have suffered a loss. If you would like to discuss this further, please speak to your manager.
