What is compassionate leave?
Compassionate leave is a type of paid time off that allows employees to take time away from work to deal with the unfortunate events in life: personal emergencies or family-related matters. It is one of the additional types of time-off you can provide your employees as part of your Employee Handbook.
The main benefit with offering compassionate leave as additional time-off is to support your team’s wellbeing. But this can also really strengthen your company’s culture, by fostering a healthy and strong company culture which can in turn help you hire great talent and retain it longer too.
What qualifies as compassionate leave?
Compassionate leave covers a range of circumstances, including but not limited to:
- the death or serious illness of a family member, parent or child
- domestic emergencies
- the death of a pet
- other critical situations that require an employee's immediate attention.
The definition of what qualifies as compassionate leave should be clearly laid out in your compassionate leave policy, to avoid any ambiguity within your team.
Legal requirements for compassionate leave in the UK
In the UK, there is no specific legal requirement for employers to provide compassionate leave. However, there is various legislation surrounding parental bereavement leave, family emergency leave, and bereavement leave.
The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act 2018, for example, grants eligible employees the right to take up to two weeks of paid leave following the death of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Compassionate leave vs. bereavement leave: What's the difference?
Bereavement leave is a specific type of compassionate leave that is granted to employees who have experienced the death of a family member. While compassionate leave encompasses a broader range of personal emergencies, bereavement leave focuses specifically on allowing employees time to grieve and make necessary funeral arrangements.
As bereavement leave is clearly defined by law unlike other types of compassionate leave, it’ll be important to clearly define the difference between the two in your policy ensures clarity and consistency in granting time off.Benefits of having a compassionate leave policy
How long is compassionate leave and is it paid?
The duration of compassionate leave can vary depending on the circumstances and the needs of the employee:
- for bereavement leave, up to two weeks of paid leave following the death of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy needs to be granted to eligible employees.
- for other personal emergencies and situations under which compassionate leave could be granted, there is no set length required by law. This means it is at the discretion of companies - some may offer it on a case by case basis, and others have a set number of days, such as a week.
As for whether compassionate leave needs to be paid or not:
- Bereavement leave pay is set a minimum of £172.48 a week or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings (whichever is lower), if they’re eligible. This amount can be topped up as part of an enhanced compassionate leave/bereavement leave policy, at your discretion.
- best practice is to provide fully paid compassionate leave to employees to support them during challenging times. However, this again is completely up to you and as an employer - just make sure specific payment terms should be clearly outlined in your policy.
Crafting an effective compassionate leave policy
Define the scope of your policy
The first step with creating a compassionate leave policy for your team is agreeing with key stakeholders what situations can fall within the policy’s scope.
The minimum will be bereavement leave, which is required by law. You can then expand it to other personal emergencies - some companies have also included the loss of a pet as a valid reason for taking compassionate leave.
Add the structure of your policy
Once agreed on what falls within the policy and what doesn’t, you’ll need to define:
- Duration: how long can an employee take leave under the policy, or is it granted on a case-by-case basis? We’d recommend a set number of days (for eg 1 week) which can be extended for bereavement leave (2 weeks minimum, by law) or exceptional cases.
- Pay: would you like compassionate leave to be fully paid or not? For bereavement leave, will your company only pay the statutory amount or top it up? This is up to you to decide.
- Notification: how should employees notify the company they would like to take compassionate leave? Do they reach out to their People team, or manager? Should the employee provide evidence such as a death certificate, medical certificates or proof of family emergency? Ensure a fair and consistent approach for everyone requesting leave.
- Keeping in touch: should the manager or member of the people team reach out to check in with the employee taking compassionate leave? Expectations set in regards to communications between the employee and the company should also be mentioned in the policy, to avoid any ambiguity.
Going beyond
Supporting employees during compassionate leave can also go beyond providing time off and pay. It is ultimately about creating a supportive and empathetic work environment can only strengthen your company’s culture.
This can be for example by offering flexibility in work schedules and assignments, allowing employees the time and space they need to grieve.
Additional company benefits, such as counseling services or employee assistance programs can make a significant difference in supporting employees during difficult times. Same goes for providing bereavement resources and guidance to help employees navigate the grieving process.
Resources and support for employers implementing a compassionate leave policy
As an employer, creating an effective compassionate leave policy is crucial for supporting your employees during personal emergencies or family-related matters. By developing a comprehensive policy, providing necessary resources, and fostering a supportive work environment, you demonstrate your commitment to the well-being of your employees and create a positive company culture. Remember, compassionate leave is not just about time off; it is about showing empathy and understanding to those who need it most.
Websites such as ACAS or GOV.uk can provide you with additional context on how to implement this policy. When in doubt, always consult a HR or legal professional too.
Onfolk Makes Managing Payroll and HR Simple and Stress-Free
The benefits of combined payroll and HR software is that you save a tonne of time with admin tasks relating to running your business all the while saving money on expensive accountants and HR consultants.
Onfolk is a modern, cloud-based platform built for startup founders and business owners employing a diverse team. Our platform combines a HR software as well as an almost fully automated payroll, so all your employee and pay data is in one place, accesible at all times.
As your employee data syncs automatically with your payroll, it takes 3 minutes every month to run. This also means you only need to keep one system updated, and your employee data and payroll are always free of discrepancies.
On top of being simple and fast to use, Onfolk provides you with other tools key to building your team effortlessly: 2-click employee onboarding and offboarding, time-off that syncs with payroll, customisable task lists, integrations with Xero, Quickbooks and your pension provider, fully customisable people metric dashboards and reports, and so much more.
If you use Slack to communicate with your team, Onfolk integrates with Slack too - get reminders for employee birthdays and anniversaries, as well as who is joining soon or on holiday that week.
Running a business comes with so many hats - Onfolk takes care of payroll andpeople admin for you, so you can focus on growing your team and business instead.
Related articles:
- Staff Handbooks for Startups: A Detailed Guide for 2023 + Examples
- What are Benefits in Kind? A Guide for Business Owners
- How is Holiday Pay Calculated? A Guide for Employers
- What is a Company Pension? A Guide for Small Business Owners
What is compassionate leave?
Compassionate leave is a type of paid time off that allows employees to take time away from work to deal with the unfortunate events in life: personal emergencies or family-related matters. It is one of the additional types of time-off you can provide your employees as part of your Employee Handbook.
The main benefit with offering compassionate leave as additional time-off is to support your team’s wellbeing. But this can also really strengthen your company’s culture, by fostering a healthy and strong company culture which can in turn help you hire great talent and retain it longer too.
What qualifies as compassionate leave?
Compassionate leave covers a range of circumstances, including but not limited to:
- the death or serious illness of a family member, parent or child
- domestic emergencies
- the death of a pet
- other critical situations that require an employee's immediate attention.
The definition of what qualifies as compassionate leave should be clearly laid out in your compassionate leave policy, to avoid any ambiguity within your team.
Legal requirements for compassionate leave in the UK
In the UK, there is no specific legal requirement for employers to provide compassionate leave. However, there is various legislation surrounding parental bereavement leave, family emergency leave, and bereavement leave.
The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act 2018, for example, grants eligible employees the right to take up to two weeks of paid leave following the death of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Compassionate leave vs. bereavement leave: What's the difference?
Bereavement leave is a specific type of compassionate leave that is granted to employees who have experienced the death of a family member. While compassionate leave encompasses a broader range of personal emergencies, bereavement leave focuses specifically on allowing employees time to grieve and make necessary funeral arrangements.
As bereavement leave is clearly defined by law unlike other types of compassionate leave, it’ll be important to clearly define the difference between the two in your policy ensures clarity and consistency in granting time off.Benefits of having a compassionate leave policy
How long is compassionate leave and is it paid?
The duration of compassionate leave can vary depending on the circumstances and the needs of the employee:
- for bereavement leave, up to two weeks of paid leave following the death of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy needs to be granted to eligible employees.
- for other personal emergencies and situations under which compassionate leave could be granted, there is no set length required by law. This means it is at the discretion of companies - some may offer it on a case by case basis, and others have a set number of days, such as a week.
As for whether compassionate leave needs to be paid or not:
- Bereavement leave pay is set a minimum of £172.48 a week or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings (whichever is lower), if they’re eligible. This amount can be topped up as part of an enhanced compassionate leave/bereavement leave policy, at your discretion.
- best practice is to provide fully paid compassionate leave to employees to support them during challenging times. However, this again is completely up to you and as an employer - just make sure specific payment terms should be clearly outlined in your policy.
Crafting an effective compassionate leave policy
Define the scope of your policy
The first step with creating a compassionate leave policy for your team is agreeing with key stakeholders what situations can fall within the policy’s scope.
The minimum will be bereavement leave, which is required by law. You can then expand it to other personal emergencies - some companies have also included the loss of a pet as a valid reason for taking compassionate leave.
Add the structure of your policy
Once agreed on what falls within the policy and what doesn’t, you’ll need to define:
- Duration: how long can an employee take leave under the policy, or is it granted on a case-by-case basis? We’d recommend a set number of days (for eg 1 week) which can be extended for bereavement leave (2 weeks minimum, by law) or exceptional cases.
- Pay: would you like compassionate leave to be fully paid or not? For bereavement leave, will your company only pay the statutory amount or top it up? This is up to you to decide.
- Notification: how should employees notify the company they would like to take compassionate leave? Do they reach out to their People team, or manager? Should the employee provide evidence such as a death certificate, medical certificates or proof of family emergency? Ensure a fair and consistent approach for everyone requesting leave.
- Keeping in touch: should the manager or member of the people team reach out to check in with the employee taking compassionate leave? Expectations set in regards to communications between the employee and the company should also be mentioned in the policy, to avoid any ambiguity.
Going beyond
Supporting employees during compassionate leave can also go beyond providing time off and pay. It is ultimately about creating a supportive and empathetic work environment can only strengthen your company’s culture.
This can be for example by offering flexibility in work schedules and assignments, allowing employees the time and space they need to grieve.
Additional company benefits, such as counseling services or employee assistance programs can make a significant difference in supporting employees during difficult times. Same goes for providing bereavement resources and guidance to help employees navigate the grieving process.
Resources and support for employers implementing a compassionate leave policy
As an employer, creating an effective compassionate leave policy is crucial for supporting your employees during personal emergencies or family-related matters. By developing a comprehensive policy, providing necessary resources, and fostering a supportive work environment, you demonstrate your commitment to the well-being of your employees and create a positive company culture. Remember, compassionate leave is not just about time off; it is about showing empathy and understanding to those who need it most.
Websites such as ACAS or GOV.uk can provide you with additional context on how to implement this policy. When in doubt, always consult a HR or legal professional too.
Onfolk Makes Managing Payroll and HR Simple and Stress-Free
The benefits of combined payroll and HR software is that you save a tonne of time with admin tasks relating to running your business all the while saving money on expensive accountants and HR consultants.
Onfolk is a modern, cloud-based platform built for startup founders and business owners employing a diverse team. Our platform combines a HR software as well as an almost fully automated payroll, so all your employee and pay data is in one place, accesible at all times.
As your employee data syncs automatically with your payroll, it takes 3 minutes every month to run. This also means you only need to keep one system updated, and your employee data and payroll are always free of discrepancies.
On top of being simple and fast to use, Onfolk provides you with other tools key to building your team effortlessly: 2-click employee onboarding and offboarding, time-off that syncs with payroll, customisable task lists, integrations with Xero, Quickbooks and your pension provider, fully customisable people metric dashboards and reports, and so much more.
If you use Slack to communicate with your team, Onfolk integrates with Slack too - get reminders for employee birthdays and anniversaries, as well as who is joining soon or on holiday that week.
Running a business comes with so many hats - Onfolk takes care of payroll andpeople admin for you, so you can focus on growing your team and business instead.
Related articles:
- Staff Handbooks for Startups: A Detailed Guide for 2023 + Examples
- What are Benefits in Kind? A Guide for Business Owners
- How is Holiday Pay Calculated? A Guide for Employers
- What is a Company Pension? A Guide for Small Business Owners
