Bereavement Leave and Pay in England, Wales and Scotland

Who this guide is for

Employees in England, Wales or Scotland who want to know what time off and pay they can get after someone dies: a child, a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, a partner, a parent or someone else close to them. It also covers Bereavement Support Payment after a partner's death.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Northern Ireland: see the Northern Ireland guide. Its rules are different.
• Maternity leave and pay, including after a stillbirth: use the maternity pay checker. Paternity leave and pay and your other rights at work: use the employee rights checker.
• Time off after a miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Parental Bereavement Leave does not cover it in England, Wales and Scotland. This guide does not cover other time off for it: ask Acas.
• Adjustments at work if grief affects your health: use the reasonable adjustments checker. Other benefits after a death: use the benefits checker.
• How much compensation a tribunal can award: use the tribunal checker.

The questions that decide the answer

1. Who died? A child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks: Parental Bereavement Leave. The mother or main adopter of your child in its first year: Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave. Another dependant: time off for dependants. Anyone else: there is no legal right to time off, so your contract or your employer's policy decides.
2. Are you an employee? These rights to time off are for employees. Acas says agency workers, casual workers and people on zero-hours contracts are not likely to be employees.
3. How long have you worked there, and what do you earn? Only the pay depends on this. The leave does not.
4. When did it happen? Parental Bereavement Leave must be taken within 56 weeks of the death or stillbirth. Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave applies where the death was on or after 6 April 2026.

"My child has died or was stillborn. How much leave do I get?"

You can take 2 weeks of Parental Bereavement Leave for each child who has died or was stillborn, from your first day with your employer.

You can take 2 weeks together, 2 separate weeks, or only one week. A week is the number of days you normally work in a week, so it is 2 days if you only work on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The leave can start on or after the date of the death or stillbirth, and must finish within 56 weeks of that date.

If you are on another type of statutory leave when the child dies, such as maternity or paternity leave, Parental Bereavement Leave starts after that leave has ended. It does not have to follow straight after it.

You may qualify as the child's parent (biological, adoptive, or a parent of a child born to a surrogate) or as the partner of the child's parent. You may also qualify if the child lived with you for 4 continuous weeks before the death and you or your partner had day to day responsibility for their care. There are detailed rules on who counts: check GOV.UK.

Your employment rights are protected while you are on Parental Bereavement Leave, including pay rises, building up holiday and returning to work.

"How do I tell my employer?"

If you take the leave in the first 8 weeks after the death or stillbirth, tell your employer before you would normally start work on the first day of the week or weeks you want off.

If you take it 9 to 56 weeks after, give your employer at least one week's notice before the leave starts.

Tell them the date of the death or stillbirth, when you want the leave to begin, and whether you are taking 1 or 2 weeks. You can do this by phone, voicemail, text or email. It does not have to be in writing, and you do not need to give proof of the death or stillbirth.

"Will I be paid?"

Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. It is paid in the same way as your wages, with tax and National Insurance taken off.

To get it, all of these must apply:

• you have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the relevant week, which is the week (ending with a Saturday) immediately before the week of the death or stillbirth;
• you were still employed by them on the day the child died or was stillborn;
• you earn on average at least £129 a week before tax, over an 8-week period;
• you give your employer the right notice and information.

If you do not meet the 26-week or earnings test, you can still take the 2 weeks of leave. It is unpaid, unless your contract pays more.

Ask for the pay within 28 days, counting from the first day of the week you are claiming for. Each time, give your employer in writing your name, the dates you are claiming for and the date of the death or stillbirth. The first time, also give a declaration that you are eligible: you can do this online on GOV.UK, in writing, or on your employer's own form.

"My employer won't pay me or won't give me the leave"

If you cannot sort out Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay with your employer, contact the HMRC Statutory Payment Dispute Team. Disputes about the pay are decided by HMRC, not by a tribunal.

If you are refused the leave, dismissed or treated unfairly for taking Parental Bereavement Leave or time off for dependants, talk to Acas. You can make a claim to an employment tribunal. Before most claims, you must notify Acas to start early conciliation. It is free. Your time limit is paused while conciliation runs, but only if you notify Acas within your time limit.

"My partner has died and we have a baby"

If the mother, main adopter or main intended parent of your child dies, you may be able to take unpaid Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave to look after your child. It applies where the death was on or after 6 April 2026. The law is the Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026.

You must be classed as an employee in England, Scotland or Wales. Your child must be less than a year old or, if you adopted, must have been in your care for less than a year.

You can take up to 52 weeks, all in one continuous block, starting from the day after the death. It must finish by your child's first birthday, or by the first anniversary of the adoption placement.

The leave is unpaid. You can take it before or after any other parental leave and pay you are eligible for, and your employment rights are protected while you are on it. There are rules about notice: ask Acas.

"Someone else close to me has died"

As an employee you have a right to time off if a dependant dies. A dependant could be your husband, wife, civil partner or partner, your child, your parent, someone who lives in your household (not a tenant, lodger or employee), or someone who relies on you, such as an elderly neighbour.

The law does not say how much time off. It says the amount should be reasonable. The time off is for dealing with unexpected issues and emergencies involving the dependant, including arranging or attending the funeral.

There is no legal right for time off for dependants to be paid. Some employers pay: check your contract or your employer's policy.

If the person who died was not your child or a dependant, there is no legal right to time off. Your employer's compassionate, bereavement or special leave policy may give you time off, and your employer can agree other leave with you.

A wider right to bereavement leave, including after pregnancy loss, is in the Employment Rights Act 2025 but is not in force yet. Until it starts, the rights in this guide are the legal rights.

"Can I get Bereavement Support Payment?"

Bereavement Support Payment is paid by the government if your husband, wife, civil partner or partner has died. It is not paid because a child has died.

You must have been under State Pension age when your partner died, and it depends on your partner's National Insurance contributions. It stops when you reach State Pension age. Check the full rules on GOV.UK.

If you were married or in a civil partnership, you get the higher rate if, when your partner died, you were getting Child Benefit for a child who lived with you, you were entitled to it, or you were pregnant. The most you can get is a one-off payment of £3,500 and 18 monthly payments of £350.

Otherwise you get the lower rate: a one-off payment of £2,500 and up to 18 monthly payments of £100.

If you were living together as if you were married, the most you can get is a one-off payment of £3,500 and 18 monthly payments of £350.

Claim within 3 months of your partner's death to get the one-off payment and all 18 monthly payments. Between 3 and 12 months, you get the one-off payment but only some of the monthly payments. Between 12 and 21 months, you get no one-off payment but some monthly payments. After 21 months you usually cannot get any payments.

Deadlines you must meet

• Parental Bereavement Leave: finish it within 56 weeks of the death or stillbirth. Notice: before your first working day off in the first 8 weeks, or at least one week's notice after that.
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay: ask within 28 days, counting from the first day of the week you are claiming for.
• Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave: it must finish by your child's first birthday or the first anniversary of the adoption placement.
• Bereavement Support Payment: claim within 3 months of the death to get the full amount.
• Most tribunal claims, including dismissal or unfair treatment for taking leave: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026. Notify Acas within your time limit. Your exact date depends on your facts: the tribunal deadline checker works it out.

Traps

• The leave is a day-one right. The pay is not: it needs 26 weeks with your employer and average earnings of at least £129 a week.
• Parental Bereavement Leave does not cover a miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland's rules are different: do not use them here.
• Bereavement Support Payment is for the death of a partner. It is not paid because a child has died.
• Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave is unpaid and must be taken in one continuous block.
• There is no legal right to paid compassionate leave. Time off for dependants is unpaid unless your contract or your employer's policy pays it.
• A dispute about Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay goes to HMRC, not to a tribunal.