UK bereavement leave needs improving, Funeral Choice finds

The UK has been shown to lag behind many other European countries in the area of bereavement – or compassionate – leave, as the amount of time a person is given to grieve is largely up to employers, according to new research by Funeral Choice. 

Funeral Choice, which is a platform that aims to help people choose and plan the right funeral for themselves or their loved one, has analysed bereavement leave policies across Europe to see how the UK compares. 

According to findings, bereavement leave can vary from nothing to a whole week of leave within Europe, with disparities present across paid leave, and more than seven days approved for the loss of a child.  

In most countries, it is also dependent on the relationship to the person who has died as to how many days an employee is entitled to, Funeral Choice has found.

The average number of bereavement days – from the 40 countries in the study – is 2.8 days. 

European countries that offered the longest bereavement leave entitlement are Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Ukraine, who all offer employees seven days. All four of these countries specified that this bereavement leave was in the instance of a death of a close family member. 

Notably, Croatia offers a list of definitions for immediate family, which includes adoptive family members, stepfamily, and spouses of blood relatives.

The next best offering is five days of bereavement leave, which is the statutory entitlement in Cyprus, France, Portugal, Russia, Lithuania and Serbia. 

Meanwhile, France has recently updated its bereavement leave laws (known there as funeral leave) to increase to 14 days for the death of a child under 25. Portugal also increases its standard laws in this instance up to 20 days for the death of a child. 

Interestingly, Slovakia allows an extra day of bereavement leave if you are planning the funeral. 

Alix Baldwin, director of Funeral Choice, said: “Grief is something we all will experience at some point in our life. So when we are in this situation and need bereavement leave from our workplace to help plan a funeral, travel to or go to one, or for time off when coping with grief, we need to know our rights clearly.

“Planning a funeral is not something that happens in one go or one day, it is usually fragmented. But allowing and recognising extra time for the planning process – like Slovakia does – would be a huge step for the UK to follow in the future. It allows the person time to think about what they really want for their loved one’s funeral and gives them the space to think about this practical side of bereavement, alongside coping with the emotional side.”

Spain’s laws have also been found to allow for more flexibility of four extra days if far travel to the funeral is necessary, which acknowledges “increasingly dispersed family and friends globally”. 

The UK – along with Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Malta, Luxembourg and Czech Republic – make up the countries that are required by law to offer bereavement leave, but there is no definition or law on whether these days are paid or for a fixed or required length. This means it is heavily reliant on employers’ discretion. 

Baldwin added: “What’s been interesting in this study is how some countries offer definitions to clarify what situations compassionate or bereavement leave can be used for. We have a lot we can take from that in the UK where it is still quite vague and at employers’ discretion. 

“In an ideal world, it would be great to see a law that requires employers to give a certain number of paid days, so that when someone finds themselves planning a funeral, they know their rights and do not have extra pressure and uncertainties of work commitments at an already hard time.”

Finally, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iceland do not have bereavement leave or an equivalent specified by law at all. This means that although it is likely offered at discretion by employers, the employees had no right to time off for a funeral or at a time of a family member’s death.