[UK] CIPD asks government to extend right to bereavement leave and pay

An open letter to the government argues that employees should have the legal right to paid bereavement leave if a close family member dies. The proposal comes as the COVID-19 crisis demonstrates the necessity of better legal rights for those dealing with the death of a loved one. In the letter, the CIPD and campaigner Lucy Herd asked business secretary Alok Sharma for the introduction of a legal right to support employees who had lost any family member.

Specifically, the letter asks for an extension of Jack’s Law - which introduced parental bereavement leave to the UK - so that all employees going through the death of a close family member or dependant have the same legal right to two weeks’ bereavement leave and pay. BereavementUK and charity Cruse Bereavement Care were among organisations supporting the plea. People Management looks at why such rights are essential for employee well being and for the wider workplace and reports on opposition to the move.

An open letter to the government argues that employees should have the legal right to paid bereavement leave if a close family member dies. The proposal comes as the COVID-19 crisis demonstrates the necessity of better legal rights for those dealing with the death of a loved one. In the letter, the CIPD and campaigner Lucy Herd asked business secretary Alok Sharma for the introduction of a legal right to support employees who had lost any family member.

Specifically, the letter asks for an extension of Jack’s Law - which introduced parental bereavement leave to the UK - so that all employees going through the death of a close family member or dependant have the same legal right to two weeks’ bereavement leave and pay. BereavementUK and charity Cruse Bereavement Care were among organisations supporting the plea. People Management looks at why such rights are essential for employee well being and for the wider workplace and reports on opposition to the move.