Paid Bereavement Leave
Discussion
Countdown said:
How much is reasonable? Or is this a "How long is a piece of string" question?
Beyond 2 weeks paid is it unfair to expect staff to take annual leave/unpaid leave instead?
I guess the answer depends on who died.... answers might be different if it is a Grandparent, vs Parent vs Child. Beyond 2 weeks paid is it unfair to expect staff to take annual leave/unpaid leave instead?
However most companies in my experience have a policy that says three days paid leave. But usually agree to more time, depending on the relationship.
I think two weeks paid leave is at the upper end of what is fair/supportive. Key thing is to communicate early with the individual.
Gargamel said:
I think two weeks paid leave is at the upper end of what is fair/supportive.
That's what I thought! And yet they seemed miffed at me suggesting they take annual leave if they needed more time. They pretty much admitted they would have taken sick leave if they weren't already on a performance management plan....!!Countdown said:
That's what I thought! And yet they seemed miffed at me suggesting they take annual leave if they needed more time. They pretty much admitted they would have taken sick leave if they weren't already on a performance management plan....!!
What relationship were they to the deceased?TooMany2cvs said:
What relationship were they to the deceased?
Her mum.I know this is going to sound exceptionally harsh but she was 95 and had been in failing health for a couple of years. Daughter's main concern is about dad having to go in a care home and the house needing to be sold to pay for it.
Countdown said:
TooMany2cvs said:
What relationship were they to the deceased?
Her mum.I know this is going to sound exceptionally harsh but she was 95 and had been in failing health for a couple of years. Daughter's main concern is about dad having to go in a care home and the house needing to be sold to pay for it.
I guess I'm just venting really...
Our normal policy is 1 week. I got approval from HR to give her an extra week as I know she'd been worried about her mum for a while. I guess it was just the expectation that she'd get another 3/4 weeks, with subtle suggestions of how she couldn't afford to take unpaid leave and how she'd already booked her annual leave for Xmas and February
.
Our normal policy is 1 week. I got approval from HR to give her an extra week as I know she'd been worried about her mum for a while. I guess it was just the expectation that she'd get another 3/4 weeks, with subtle suggestions of how she couldn't afford to take unpaid leave and how she'd already booked her annual leave for Xmas and February
.Countdown said:
TooMany2cvs said:
What relationship were they to the deceased?
Her mum.I know this is going to sound exceptionally harsh but she was 95 and had been in failing health for a couple of years. Daughter's main concern is about dad having to go in a care home and the house needing to be sold to pay for it.
If Dad's not gone into the home yet, then she's going to be full-time looking after him. She needs to be reminded that if she wishes to jack her job in to become a full-time carer, then that's fine, but it does mean you won't be paying her...
Two weeks sounds like plenty to me.
When my mum died, I took a couple of days - by coincidence I already had the following week booked off anyway. When it came to the end of the holiday year, the HR lady decided I had not booked enough time as compassionate leave, and therefore bumped my remaining holiday up for a week and paid me for it.
When my mum died, I took a couple of days - by coincidence I already had the following week booked off anyway. When it came to the end of the holiday year, the HR lady decided I had not booked enough time as compassionate leave, and therefore bumped my remaining holiday up for a week and paid me for it.
Our employee handbook states the following:
Up to 5 working days paid compassionate leave for the death of a spouse, parent, child or guardian; up to 3 working days paid compassionate leave for the death of a brother, sister or other close relative.
If we want to take longer and have no annual leave or flexi to take then we can take unpaid leave.
Up to 5 working days paid compassionate leave for the death of a spouse, parent, child or guardian; up to 3 working days paid compassionate leave for the death of a brother, sister or other close relative.
If we want to take longer and have no annual leave or flexi to take then we can take unpaid leave.
Every death is different and every person takes it differently.
Some may only need a few days, some man, many more days.
Some will never truly recover.
One thing is for sure though, the ones that always ty to swing the lead will be those who expect the most time off.
At a company i was once aware of the boss's PA had spent almost every single day telling others who would listen what an utter b
h her MiL was and how she was this that and the other. MiL suddenly dies without warning and all of a sudden you would think that this woman had just lost an 8th month of pregnancy baby. Apparently it was insensitive to ask her when she thought that she might feel up to coming back after 3 weeks off with no contact made to the office.
Some may only need a few days, some man, many more days.
Some will never truly recover.
One thing is for sure though, the ones that always ty to swing the lead will be those who expect the most time off.
At a company i was once aware of the boss's PA had spent almost every single day telling others who would listen what an utter b
h her MiL was and how she was this that and the other. MiL suddenly dies without warning and all of a sudden you would think that this woman had just lost an 8th month of pregnancy baby. Apparently it was insensitive to ask her when she thought that she might feel up to coming back after 3 weeks off with no contact made to the office. For a Parent 5 days is fine. When my Dad died I took 2 weeks and when I returned to work my boss had a gentle chat with me and explained that the firm would give one week paid but the second week would be paid leave (holiday) or unpaid. I filled in the holiday form.
Years later a member of my team lost her brother in an accident. She was given two weeks. Then another two weeks. She was asked to keep in contact. During this time we found out she had been to the Greek Islands with her boyfriend. I called and left a message asking her to call me (as she wasn't keeping in contact) to discuss her return to work also mentioning we could do this initially on a PT basis. Next thing I know is that shes on the phone to HR accusing me of bullying.
Thankfully I had kept HR up to speed on everything. Every situation is different but you know when they're taking the piss
Years later a member of my team lost her brother in an accident. She was given two weeks. Then another two weeks. She was asked to keep in contact. During this time we found out she had been to the Greek Islands with her boyfriend. I called and left a message asking her to call me (as she wasn't keeping in contact) to discuss her return to work also mentioning we could do this initially on a PT basis. Next thing I know is that shes on the phone to HR accusing me of bullying.
Thankfully I had kept HR up to speed on everything. Every situation is different but you know when they're taking the piss
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