Charity calls for paid bereavement leave

The Sue Ryder charity has called for workers who lose a close relative or partner to receive two weeks’ statutory paid bereavement leave.

There is currently no legal requirement for employers to grant time off to those affected by bereavement, except for parents who have lost a child under 18 years old, although many organisations will grant a period of compassionate leave.

However, the charity claims, the grief experienced by staff who have lost a loved one costs the UK economy £23 billion a year through staff absence and loss of productivity, and HM Treasury almost £8bn a year through reduced tax revenues and increased use of NHS and social care resources.

The charity believes that introducing statutory paid bereavement leave would alleviate the pressure that people often feel in the immediate aftermath of a death.

Sue Ryder chief executive Heidi Travis said: “For many people, grief can be debilitating and additional stressors such as work can feel overwhelming. Currently many employers offer three to five days’ compassionate leave, but lower income workers in less secure jobs often don’t have access to any leave.

“Not only would statutory paid bereavement leave improve how, as a society, we approach an issue that will affect almost all of us, but it would also address the financial impacts of unresolved grief, and its cost to the economy.”

https://www.sueryder.org/news/sue-ryder-calls-for-statutory-paid-bereavement-leave