We recognise that, while dealing with any bereavement is complex, the death of a child is among the most devastating events an employee can ever face.

This policy reiterates our commitment to supporting our employees through their grief by ensuring that bereaved parents can take parental bereavement leave.

This policy applies to employees who have lost a child (i.e. under 18) on or after 6 April 2020. The policy also applies to parents who suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Who Can Take Parental Bereavement Leave

Whatever your length of service, you can take parental bereavement leave if you are the:

• parent of a child who has passed away; or
• partner of the child's parent, where you live in an enduring family relationship with the child who has passed away and their parent; or
• "parent in fact" of a child who had passed away, which means that, for a continuous period of at least four weeks before the child died, you have been living with the child and had "day-to-day responsibility" for the child (but you have not been paid to look after the child);
• "intended parent" of a child who has passed away, i.e. a parent using a surrogate;
• "natural parent" of a child who has passed away who is named in a court order, i.e. where a court orders some contact for an adopted child's birth parent; or
• adopter of a child who has passed away.

In practice, this means that most employees with parental responsibility for a child who passes away on or after 6 April 2020 can take parental bereavement leave.

If you have suffered a bereavement but are unsure if you are entitled to parental bereavement leave, you should contact your line for clarification.

What Leave a Bereaved Parent Can Take?

For each child who has passed away, a bereaved parent can take one- or two-weeks' parental bereavement leave.

Parental bereavement leave is not available as individual days.

Timing of Parental Bereavement Leave

If you are a bereaved parent, you can take the rest as:

• a single block of two weeks, or