An employee (regardless of their length of service) is entitled to take two weeks of SPBL - if their child dies on or after 6 April 2020. The employee must be a bereaved parent for the purposes of SPBL, e.g. an adoptive parent, a parent who has a child via surrogacy or a parent’s partner. A child is a person under the age of 18 or a stillborn child after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
An employee is entitled to take SPBL for each child if more than one child has died.
How Can SPBL be Taken?
An employee must take their SPBL within the period of 56 weeks beginning with the date of the child’s death. An employee can take SPBL as either a single block of two weeks or as two separate blocks of one week. A week is any period of seven days.
Notification Requirements for SPBL
An employee can give verbal or written notification to their employer about:
1. The date of the child’s death.
2. The start date of any period of SPBL and
3. Their intention to take one or two weeks of SPBL.
An employee can also give a verbal or written notification to their employer about cancelling their SPBL.
When Must the Notice be Given?
The length of notice required for SPBL will vary depending on the time that an employee is starting their SPBL. But the employee must take their SPBL within the period of 56 weeks beginning with the date of the child’s death.
Notice for SPBL Starting Within the Period of 56 days
This section applies where SPBL starts within the period of 56 days beginning with the date of the child’s death.
An employee who is starting their SPBL must give notice to their employer - before the time that they are due to start work on the first day of their SPBL. Where it is not reasonably practicable to do so – the employee must do so as soon as reasonably practicable. For example, if an employee is due to start work at 9 am on 4 May 2020 - they can give notice at 8.45 am on 4 May 2020 to start their SPBL on the same day.
If an employee gives notice to their employer to start their SPBL on the same day on which they gave the notice. But the employee is already at work on that day – the SPBL period will start on the next day.
An employee who is cancelling their SPBL must give notice to their employer – before the time that they are due to start work on the first day of their SPBL. For example, if the start date of SPBL is 4 May 2020. And the employee would have been due to start work at 9 am on 4 May 2020 - if they were not taking SPBL. The employee can cancel their SPBL at 8.45 am on 4 May 2020.
An employee cannot cancel any week of SPBL which has already started.
Notice for SPBL Starting After the Period of 56 days
This section applies where SPBL starts after the period of 56 days beginning with the date of the child’s death.
An employee who is starting or cancelling their SPBL must give at least one week’s notice to their employer before the start of the SPBL period.
An employee cannot cancel any week of SPBL which has already started.
Terms and Conditions of Employment During SPBL
During the SPBL period, an employee has the statutory right to continue to benefit from all of their terms and conditions of employment with the exception of remuneration.
Right to Return to Work After SPBL
An employee who returns to work after SPBL is entitled to return to the job in which they were employed before they took SPBL. The employee’s seniority, pension and similar rights must be as they would have been if they had not taken SPBL. And the employee must not return to work on less favourable terms and conditions of employment due to taking SPBL.
Employment Protection Rights
An employee (regardless of their length of service) will be unfairly dismissed - if the reason for their dismissal (or their selection for redundancy) is - because they took SPBL, sought to take SPBL, made use of the benefits of SPBL or the employer believed that the employee was likely to take SPBL. An employee also has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by their employer due to one of the same reasons.
Source: The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 and the Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020.
The regulations about Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay are:
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) Regulations 2020
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Administration) Regulations 2020
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2020
An employee is entitled to take SPBL for each child if more than one child has died.
How Can SPBL be Taken?
An employee must take their SPBL within the period of 56 weeks beginning with the date of the child’s death. An employee can take SPBL as either a single block of two weeks or as two separate blocks of one week. A week is any period of seven days.
Notification Requirements for SPBL
An employee can give verbal or written notification to their employer about:
1. The date of the child’s death.
2. The start date of any period of SPBL and
3. Their intention to take one or two weeks of SPBL.
An employee can also give a verbal or written notification to their employer about cancelling their SPBL.
When Must the Notice be Given?
The length of notice required for SPBL will vary depending on the time that an employee is starting their SPBL. But the employee must take their SPBL within the period of 56 weeks beginning with the date of the child’s death.
Notice for SPBL Starting Within the Period of 56 days
This section applies where SPBL starts within the period of 56 days beginning with the date of the child’s death.
An employee who is starting their SPBL must give notice to their employer - before the time that they are due to start work on the first day of their SPBL. Where it is not reasonably practicable to do so – the employee must do so as soon as reasonably practicable. For example, if an employee is due to start work at 9 am on 4 May 2020 - they can give notice at 8.45 am on 4 May 2020 to start their SPBL on the same day.
If an employee gives notice to their employer to start their SPBL on the same day on which they gave the notice. But the employee is already at work on that day – the SPBL period will start on the next day.
An employee who is cancelling their SPBL must give notice to their employer – before the time that they are due to start work on the first day of their SPBL. For example, if the start date of SPBL is 4 May 2020. And the employee would have been due to start work at 9 am on 4 May 2020 - if they were not taking SPBL. The employee can cancel their SPBL at 8.45 am on 4 May 2020.
An employee cannot cancel any week of SPBL which has already started.
Notice for SPBL Starting After the Period of 56 days
This section applies where SPBL starts after the period of 56 days beginning with the date of the child’s death.
An employee who is starting or cancelling their SPBL must give at least one week’s notice to their employer before the start of the SPBL period.
An employee cannot cancel any week of SPBL which has already started.
Terms and Conditions of Employment During SPBL
During the SPBL period, an employee has the statutory right to continue to benefit from all of their terms and conditions of employment with the exception of remuneration.
Right to Return to Work After SPBL
An employee who returns to work after SPBL is entitled to return to the job in which they were employed before they took SPBL. The employee’s seniority, pension and similar rights must be as they would have been if they had not taken SPBL. And the employee must not return to work on less favourable terms and conditions of employment due to taking SPBL.
Employment Protection Rights
An employee (regardless of their length of service) will be unfairly dismissed - if the reason for their dismissal (or their selection for redundancy) is - because they took SPBL, sought to take SPBL, made use of the benefits of SPBL or the employer believed that the employee was likely to take SPBL. An employee also has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by their employer due to one of the same reasons.
Source: The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 and the Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020.
The regulations about Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay are:
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) Regulations 2020
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Administration) Regulations 2020
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations 2020
3 comments:
I was asked a question about when the 56-day period actually begins. The questioner had read that it was 56 days after the death of the child. And therefore, if a child dies on 4 May 2020. The 56-day period would begin on 5 May 2020.
However, regulation 6(6) of the Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020 states that the 56-day period begins “with the date of the child’s death”. And therefore, the 56-day period would begin on 4 May 2020.
This will also apply to the beginning of the 56-week period. See regulation 5(4).
Tables showing relevant weeks and start dates for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tables-showing-relevant-weeks-and-start-dates-for-statutory-parental-bereavement-pay
Also, the Government’s guide on Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/parental-bereavement-pay-leave
Calculating Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay for a furloughed employee on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
See the Maternity Allowance, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Normal Weekly Earnings etc.) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/450/pdfs/uksi_20200450_en.pdf
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