Grief doesn’t end when an employee returns to work. Yet bereavement remains one of the more difficult situations for managers to navigate. With changes to statutory bereavement leave on the horizon, we consider what employers need to know and how they can support employees with compassion and confidence.
Bereavement is something most of us will experience during our working lives. Yet when an employee loses someone close to them, even experienced managers can find themselves unsure how best to respond.
How much time off should be offered? What happens when an employee returns but is clearly struggling? And how do employers balance compassion with the practical demands of running an organisation?
There are no straightforward answers. Grief affects everyone differently and rarely follows a predictable timeline. Some employees welcome the familiarity of work, while others may struggle with responsibilities they previously managed with ease.
For employers, this raises an important question: are your managers equipped to provide the right support, or are they relying on policies that only tell part of the story?
Understanding the legal position: what leave is an employee entitled to?
Bereavement leave is an area where employers need to understand the distinction between statutory entitlements and the additional support they may choose to provide.
Currently, under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees in England, Scotland and Wales have a statutory right to reasonable unpaid time off to deal with certain emergencies involving a dependant, including making arrangements following their death. However, there is no general statutory entitlement to a fixed period of leave following every bereavement.
Separate provisions apply to eligible employees who lose a child under 18 or experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. These employees may qualify for two weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave, with statutory pay subject to eligibility requirements.
Importantly, the legal position is changing.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides the framework for extending bereavement leave to certain close family relationships and pregnancy losses. The Government has announced plans to introduce wider entitlements from April 2027, including at least one week of unpaid leave following specified family bereavements and up to two weeks following certain pregnancy losses.
Employers should monitor these developments and review their existing arrangements. However, meeting statutory obligations is only part of the picture. How an organisation responds beyond the legal minimum can have a lasting impact on its employees.
What does compassionate management look like?
One of the biggest challenges managers face is knowing what to say when someone shares news of a bereavement.
There can be a tendency to avoid difficult conversations for fear of saying the wrong thing. However, a simple acknowledgement of the loss and a genuine offer of support will often mean more than trying to find the perfect words.
The important thing is not to make assumptions. Some employees will want to talk about their loss, while others may prefer privacy. Equally, someone who appears to be coping well may be finding things much harder than they let on.
Managers should listen, establish what support might help and keep communication open. They do not need to become counsellors, but they should know when to involve HR or signpost additional support. Perhaps most importantly, they need to recognise that grief does not end when compassionate leave does.
How can flexibility help an employee returning to work?
An employee returning to work after bereavement may appear ready to resume their usual responsibilities. But returning to work and being ready to perform at full capacity are not necessarily the same thing. Grief can affect concentration, confidence, decision-making and energy levels, sometimes unexpectedly.
Depending on the role and operational requirements, employers could consider:
- Temporary adjustments to working hours or a phased return.
- Additional compassionate, annual or unpaid leave.
- Homeworking or flexibility around start and finish times.
- Adjustments to deadlines or responsibilities.
- Regular check-ins to review how the employee is managing.
The key is to have a conversation rather than assume what someone needs.
For some employees, maintaining their usual routine may be important. Others may benefit from temporary adjustments. Whatever is agreed, arrangements should be reviewed. Circumstances change, and an approach that works initially may need to be reconsidered.
Does your bereavement policy give managers enough guidance?
Most employers will have some form of bereavement or compassionate leave policy. But how useful is it when a manager is faced with a difficult situation?
A policy may clearly explain how much leave is available, but what happens when an employee needs more time? Or when they return to work but are struggling?
These are the situations where managers need more than a list of entitlements. A good policy should distinguish between statutory and discretionary leave, explain the support available and provide clear guidance on when managers should seek HR advice.
It should also allow for individual circumstances while ensuring decisions remain fair and consistent.
Confidentiality is another important consideration. Colleagues may need to know about changes to workloads, but that does not mean they need to know the details of someone’s bereavement.
The Acas guidance on bereavement policies is a useful starting point for employers reviewing their approach.
How can employers balance compassion with business needs?
One concern employers may have is how to support a bereaved employee without placing additional pressure on the wider team. In practice, compassion and operational requirements do not have to be competing priorities.
Managers can review workloads, identify urgent tasks and agree temporary arrangements that give everyone greater clarity.
Where an employee’s performance changes, it is particularly important not to jump to conclusions. What might appear to be disengagement could be someone struggling to manage the impact of grief. An early, supportive conversation may help identify the underlying issue before it becomes a more significant workplace concern.
Fairness does not necessarily mean treating everyone identically. Different circumstances may require different approaches, provided decisions are reasonable, consistent with policies and legally appropriate.
Are your managers equipped to respond to bereavement?
Even the best-written policy will have limited value if managers are not confident applying it.
Bereavement can involve difficult conversations, sensitive decisions and requests for flexibility that managers may not have encountered before. Practical guidance and training can help them respond appropriately without feeling they need to have all the answers.
HR teams should also consider whether bereavement is being handled consistently across the organisation. If managers regularly seek clarification or similar situations are managed very differently, it may be time to review the guidance available.
The aim is not to make managers experts in grief, but to give them the confidence to respond with sensitivity and good judgement.
What can employers do now?
With legislative changes approaching, now is a good opportunity to review how bereavement is managed within your organisation.
There are several practical steps employers can take:
- Review your policy: Check statutory and contractual entitlements and whether sufficient flexibility is available.
- Support your managers: Ensure they understand the policy and feel confident handling sensitive conversations.
- Make support accessible: Signpost employee assistance programmes, counselling and other available resources.
- Consider the return to work: Encourage conversations about workload, temporary adjustments and ongoing support.
- Prepare for legislative changes: Monitor developments and update policies as further details become available.
These steps need not be complicated, but they can make a considerable difference to how employees experience support during a difficult time.
Making compassion part of workplace culture
Bereavement is a reminder that employees do not leave their personal circumstances at the workplace door.
Policies provide an important framework, but it is often the response of individual managers that determines whether an employee feels genuinely supported.
Employers cannot remove the difficulties associated with grief. They can, however, create an environment where employees feel comfortable asking for help and managers have the confidence to respond appropriately.
Ultimately, the question is not simply whether your bereavement policy meets the legal minimum, but whether it works in practice when an employee needs support.
There is also a legal dimension. Although the Acas Code is not legislation, employment tribunals take it into account in relevant cases, and an unreasonable failure to follow the Code can, in some circumstances, result in an award being adjusted by up to 25%.
How can Narrow Quay HR help?
Narrow Quay HR can support employers with reviewing bereavement policies, clarifying leave arrangements and developing practical guidance to help managers navigate sensitive employee situations.
We can also help organisations consider how bereavement support fits within their wider HR policies and employee wellbeing arrangements, ensuring a consistent and practical approach.