Parental bereavement leave is available as a statutory right for employees who suffer the loss of a child under the age of 18 on or after 6 April 2020. This includes parents who suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
An employee can take two weeks of parental bereavement leave, either as:
• a single block of two weeks; or
• two separate blocks of one week at different times.
The leave cannot be taken as individual days.
The leave can be taken at the time(s) the employee chooses within the 56 weeks after the bereavement. They might choose, for example, to take it at a particularly difficult time such as the child's birthday.
If the employee has lost more than one child, they have a separate entitlement to bereavement leave for each child who has passed away.
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