Madison has experience dealing with both contentious and non-contentious employment law matters. Madison advises a range of employers across various sectors on all aspects of employment law. Madison’s practice area includes advisory work and corporate transactions.
Stay ahead of the curve with our exclusive Q&A series, brought to you by leading law firm, Arthur Cox, LLP, designed to answer your most pressing legal questions. These expert insights provide clear guidance to ensure your HR practices remain compliant and protect your organisation.
This month's question:
What is parental bereavement leave and pay, and who is entitled to take up to two weeks off work following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy?
Parental bereavement leave and pay are statutory rights in the UK for eligible employees who lose a child under the age of 18 or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy or onwards. It is governed by the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.
To qualify for parental bereavement leave and pay, an employee must meet specific criteria both as a parent and an employee.
- An employee must be the child’s parent - either biological, adoptive or parent of a child born to a surrogate or the partner of the child’s parent. The employee may also be eligible if the child was living with the employee at their home for four continuous weeks, ending with the date of death or if the employee or employee’s partner had day to day responsibility for the child’s care during that time.
- The individual claiming the parental bereavement leave must be classed as an employee. However, there is no qualifying period for the leave but there is a qualifying service requirement of six months for the pay. The employee also must give the employer notice for parental bereavement leave.
Those who qualify can take two weeks leave each child who has died or was stillborn. It is at the employee’s discretion whether to take two weeks together, two separate weeks of leave or only one week of leave.
The employee will be able to claim either £187.18 a week or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) whilst on leave.
Overall employers should be compassionate and supportive and some employers may wish to enhance the statutory parental bereavement pay. Employers can consider creating a separate policy for parental bereavement leave or can incorporate compassionate leave and parental bereavement leave into a single policy.
Employers in NI should also note that the Department for the Economy previously announced that the current parental bereavement rights in NI will be extended to include working parents who suffer the loss of a child through miscarriage (before 24 weeks). We currently await regulations but they are expected by April 2026 latest. This will make NI the first jurisdiction in Europe to offer this support to employees.
This article was provided by Madison Bowyer, an Associate in the Employment Law Group at Arthur Cox NI.
T:+44 28 9026 5886
E: Madison.bowyer@arthurcox.com
https://www.arthurcox.com/
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