Location: Northern Ireland
Rep.of Ireland
Location: Northern Ireland
Rep.of Ireland
Home / Articles First Tuesday Q&A NI

Does an employer have to allow paid or other leave when an employee suffers a family bereavement?

Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A NI on 3 July 2018
Chris Fullerton
Arthur Cox NI
Issues covered:

There is no specific statutory right to paid or other time off for a family bereavement, save in the limited circumstances where “emergency leave” applies.

However, an employer may have a bereavement policy or compassionate leave policy in place which covers situations where an employee loses a close family member. If such policy is in place, the employer must follow it. Further, if it is contained within an employee handbook which is contractual in nature, failure to follow this policy could leave the employer open to a breach of contract claim.

Employers must ensure that they factor in potential discrimination issues when responding to a request for time off following a bereavement. For

Already a subscriber?

Click here to login and access the full article.

Don't miss out, register today!

Are you fully aware of the benefits of Legal-Island's Employment Law Update Service? We help hundreds of people like you understand how the latest changes in employment law impact on your business.

Help understand the ramifications of each important case from NI, GB and Europe

24/7 access to all the content in the Legal Island Vault for research case law and HR issues

Ensure your organisation’s policies and procedures are fully compliant with NI law

Receive free preliminary advice on workplace issues from the employment team at Worthingtons Solicitors

Already a subscriber, now or Register

Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 03/07/2018
Disclaimer:

The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.

Chris Fullerton
Arthur Cox NI

The main content of this article was provided by Chris Fullerton. Contact telephone number is 028 9023 0007 or email Chris.Fullerton@arthurcox.com

View all articles by Chris Fullerton